


Animals and Prizes

by Alsike



Series: Animals and Prizes [1]
Category: Victorious
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Attempted Sexual Assault, F/F, Forced Marriage, Gender Roles, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7031884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alsike/pseuds/Alsike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tori Vega is starting an exciting new school, Hollywood Arts, but she has a secret. She's a female alpha, naturally dominant and aggressive. If anyone finds out, her life will hardly be worth living. </p><p>Alphas sense when an omega goes into heat, but that doesn't mean she wants an omega--especially not a girl omega. Biology isn't destiny, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been up at fanfiction.net for a long time, because that's where the fandom is, but I figure I should start consolidating my stuff. Step one!  
> Also, suddenly, in the time between this, femslash A/B/O fic has become a thing, and I'm really proud of my worldbuilding in this.
> 
> This is heavily inspired by Chash's A Fine Job of Bending All the Rules, which, I think is the classic, 'seminal' work of the genre. It also has the same motivation as Chash’s story. Knotting universes are awesome, "but what about the girls?"

_Things I like,_ by Tori Vega.

1) Science.2) Nice boys.3) Ham.4) My parents. 5) Music. 6) My sister Trina (maybe).

_Things I like, but didn't know I liked until yesterday_

Performing in front of a crowd.

_Secrets I'm planning on keeping until I die_

1) That time I looked at porn on the computer and saw a knot and wanted to puke.

2) What my sister did to me that one time at summer camp.Trust me, you don't want to know.(Oh ewwwww.It wasn't _that_!)

3) I can smell it when omegas go into heat.

4) It smells good.

* * *

For some people an new school was a horror, for others it was an opportunity.For Tori Vega, it was a minefield.

Kids were drumming and tap dancing on the landing.The lockers burst with color.Everyone looked cool and awesome.Tori wasn't cool and awesome, and it was _important_ that she wasn't cool and awesome.She was supposed to stay in the background, not be noticed.But she had been noticed, been on stage, and they had all been really wonderful and welcoming.

She hadn't felt like a freak.

Now she kind of did, but not in the way she was used to.She had always been supposed to restrain herself, keep calm, not get angry, keep out of the spotlight.If they were looking at you they might _see_ you, and she really didn't want to be seen - not for what she was.

Not for an alpha.

But here everyone wanted to be seen, and trying to stay out of the spotlight would make her ten times more freakish.It would draw attention.People would ask questions.

Oh god, she couldn't stay.But before she could run, Trina grabbed her elbow and pulled her in the doors, talking excitedly, with the overly dramatic comforting tones that sometimes made her feel like a big sister, and sometimes just made her Incredibly Annoying.

Tori tried not to be like an alpha, but she was one, and alphas were stubborn.She was going to class.

The crazy red-head (beta, she mentally categorized), Cat wasn't any help, and the boy with the puppet (possibly a male omega?That would be weird.But the puppet persona was a perfect imitation of a douchebag alpha) got her lost.She had planned to show up early and talk to the teacher, but when she finally got there she hardly early, and the teacher hadn't even arrived yet.

And then there was the boy.He was super cute, and nice, not screaming at her for spilling his coffee and staining his shirt, and he didn't give her that prickle of annoyance all down her back like other alphas did. _Beta_. _Nice boy beta_.She smiled.

Then, of course, the door opened.

* * *

Jade West hated mornings.She hated this morning particularly.Beck wasn't waiting at her locker for her, and there was a weird smell in the hallway.There was always some weird smell in the hallway, it was a high school after all.But this smell was pernicious, and suspicious, and then, of course, she stepped into her classroom and figured out that it was THAT GIRL.

THAT GIRL was the one at the showcase.The one waltzing onto their stage and doing the most idiotic choreography with absolutely no natural grace whatsoever.The one that pushed past her, brushed up against her knee as she moved through the seats, _late_ , and sent a shock up her leg.She stunk too, stronger than the Axe soaked beta boys on their best day.It made Jade want to vomit.

It made her horny.

Jade didn't care about alphas.Fucking goddamn alphas.They didn't tempt her.She didn't want them.She was used to all the losers around school, and fine, she could sense them when she was in heat - and she was on the verge of it now - but she didn't react.Iron self control had to be good for _something_.

Her reaction had to be the shock.

_Girl alpha, girl alpha, girl alpha. Freak._

And she was such a _dork_.

That was the most shocking part of the whole thing.Letting herself get pushed onto stage, fighting back, but fighting out of embarrassment.She was an _alpha_.She should own it.

And then she did own it, and Jade grabbed Beck by the collar and jerked him toward the door."We're getting out of here."

"Hey, she's pretty good."

Her hand went straight to his crotch."I'm better."

Not only was it THAT GIRL, it was THAT GIRL with her paws all over Beck, and looking all dark-eyed and seductive, and Jade was filled with rage.

She was used to being filled with rage.But this time it was so much rage that she couldn't even express it.That girl.Why was she here?Why was she touching Beck?Why was she looking all sweet at Beck?She was an alpha.She was supposed to want-Well, to be honest, she was supposed to want _Jade_ , and Jade couldn't help feeling disappointed that she didn't.And threatened.And super pissed off.

" _Dude_!"

But she couldn't move from the door.The room already stank like that girl, and stepping into the miasma made her want to be violently ill.

The girl looked confused.And then she backed down.She ducked her head and shied away when Jade flicked her to the side.She _submitted._ That was NOT an alpha thing to do.

But the girl was an alpha.Jade didn't make mistakes about _that_.

She was an alpha who submitted.

It... kind of turned her on.

Jade settled into her chair, in close and possessive proximity to Beck, and watched her.She was _nervous_.She was _awkward_.She was _such a dork_.

Jade hated her.

Jade would have hated her even if she hadn't been putting her forearm all over Beck.She hated her because she was an alpha, and because she was so goddamn close, and Jade's heat was supposed to be over, but this frigging alpha was making it hard to sit still in her chair.

And so, when she had the chance, she pushed it.She called Tori up on stage to have her first (and hopefully last) taste of improv. 

 _Be my dog_ , she thought.Alphas were animals.But maybe they could be pets too.

THAT GIRL, _Tori_ , was scared.She was out of her depth.She wasn't in control.

That was how omegas felt all the time.It might be a good deed to give her a taste of it.

"I went to the animal shelter and got us a _new puppy_."

Touching her was more than Jade wanted to do, but she put her hand on her arm.It sparked like static electricity.Jade's teeth ground together.Fucking alphas.This girl needed to not be in her class, not be in her school.

"Sikowitz..." _Tell this bitch to get out!_

Tell her to kneel.No alpha would kneel for an omega.

But Tori did.She got down on her hands and knees.Jade smiled.How could she not, when she had never felt this powerful?She reached down to touch her head.Her hair was soft and she lowered her head just slightly when Jade stroked it.

Drunk on power, Jade let the scene play, and when Tori, humiliated, fled the room soaked in coffee, she grinned.Her gut throbbed.Her mouth was flooded with saliva.She felt like she was in heat, but she wasn't supposed to go back into heat for a month.

That was... a little weird.But it didn't matter.There was no way Tori was coming back to Hollywood Arts. 

Jade had won.

* * *

Tori was too old to cry on her mom, but when she turned around and said, "how was the new school, honey?"Tori couldn't help but fall into her arms and sob.

"It was that bad?"

Tori rubbed her eyes.She hated being weepy.She wasn't usually.She was tough.She was in control.She had had _coffee_ poured in her hair!

"There's a girl," Tori mumbled into her mother's chest."She hates me."

"She doesn't even know you."

Tori swallowed and sat up.She had been embarrassed, touching the girl's boyfriend, and she hadn't really apologized.She probably had ought to have, but she was distracted.The boy was cute and charming, and the girl was gorgeous and smelled like - like stars and homemade apple pie, or something equally absurd.

"She didn't have to get to know me," Tori said."It's pretty clear she hated me on sight.I was kind of rubbing down her boyfriend though."

Her mom laughed, and Tori felt herself start to smile.

"The boyfriend's a beta, for sure.I think his name's Beck.But I'm pretty sure she wasn't a beta."

"Oh really?" her mother cocked her head, sounding amused, as if she didn't bother categorizing everyone she met and thought it was funny that Tori still did.It was kind of inappropriate, she supposed, but it was defensive too.She had to know who the alphas and the omegas were.Betas couldn't tell a thing about what she was, but alphas got twitchy around other alphas, and when omegas were in heat they could sense alphas.Tori had to make sure to stay well away when an omega came into heat.

"No.Not a beta."Tori cocked her head."But she didn't act like an omega."She acted like a pissed off alpha when he found another alpha treading on his turf.What if she _was_ a pissed off alpha finding another alpha treading on her turf?Had Tori _finally_ met another female alpha?Of _course_ another alpha would instantly hate her.Alphas were natural rivals.But... Tori didn't feel that way.Usually she grimaced whenever she sensed another alpha nearby, especially if he were pushing his weight around, acting like he owned the school. 

But the girl, _Jade_ , had bossed her and grabbed her and twisted the arm of the teacher to make her get down and play doggy, and Tori had never felt that flex in her gut.She had poured _coffee_ on her head and Tori hadn't even gotten angry.

Maybe the yoga and meditation really were working.

Tori twisted her hair around a finger."I think she might be an alpha."

"Really?"

_She smells nice._

* * *

Tori had fallen asleep on her mother's shoulder."What's up with our little alpha pup?" her father inquired quietly.

Her mother smiled up at him."An omega girl at the new school driving her crazy."

"Well, that's what you do to us."He grinned.

"You didn't give her much preparation."Her mother shook her head."Telling her that she'll end up with some nice beta boy."

"She could!" her father said stubbornly."Or beta girl.Biology isn't destiny."

Her mother laughed."Certainly not.If it were, that would mean that I was equally destined to end up with any of those awful alpha boys I had dated.I'd much prefer to think I was destined for you."

"Well, I think I have to agree there."He leaned in, kissed his wife, and stroked his daughter's hair.

* * *

All else equal, Tori was stubborn.And if this was her first alpha-alpha pissing match, she wasn't running away with her tail between her legs.

She strode into that room, a little late, and that girl, _Jade_ , slid up her chair with a look on her face somewhere between totally pissed off and shocked.The room smelled like her, but Tori swallowed and didn't react.

Yesterday, Tori had been afraid and out of her depth, but today she was ready.Fine, she had never done improv.She might not be brilliant at it, but she could do her best.It wasn't like impressing hobo-man Sikowitz was something she desperately needed in her life (beta?).And alphabetical improv was an exercise you could win.That was exactly what she wanted, she wanted to win.So she called Jade up to play.

Jade knew it was a pissing match the moment she said her name.That almost-smile and quirk of her eyebrow were probably supposed to threaten, but Tori felt herself wanting to grin back.It was a little bit of a mess.But guy alphas all fought and yet they hung out in groups, like friends.Could she have a friend?Someone she could be honest with?Someone who got it?

Jade sauntered up to the stage with a slow swing of her hips, laid a kiss on Beck like she was marking him, and the scent that surrounded her seemed to grow, deepenthe sweet highlights brightening.It was kind of overwhelming, and when the game started with 'P' Tori, hardly able to pull in a breath, could only think of one thing to say.

"Please go take a shower!"

"Quit telling me what to do!"

And Beck slid in, playing the nice guy, trying to calm things down.But the look on Jade's face - stunned betrayal - made it _obvious_ that that had been a bad idea.

With limited interruptions, it got worse.

Beck faked passing out, and Jade lit into her, and Tori gave up holding back.

And it was working.Jade got angrier and angrier, barely able to keep a lid on.Tori would close the distance between them, and Jade's shoulders went up.She would move, trying - almost - to get away, it seemed, keep the space between them constant, controllable.But she wasn't going to escape.

Tori didn't really know what she was saying anymore.She was just snapping out responses, loving the heat of it, feeling confident.She had Jade running, and soon she would catch her.And then she did.Jade stormed off the stage, sitting, with a look of absolute death on her face.

Tori had _won_ , and she was going to take her prize.

Beck was clearly a nice guy.Tori liked nice guys.And he kissed like a dream.

* * *

Jade stormed into her house, down to her room, and threw herself on the bed. _Godfuckingdammit_!She grabbed for scissors and a stuffed rabbit and started shredding it, ears first.

THAT GIRL, THAT GIRL had humiliated her, in front of _everyone_.And she had used Beck.Beck was HERS.That was the DEAL.Damn him.Damn all those beta sluts.Tori Vega would rue the fucking day she-

"Jadelyn!" 

Jade froze.Her mother's ultra-sweet voice echoed in the hallway.

"Jadelyn!I heard you come home."

Jade threw the scissors at the wall, where they impaled point first.She stomped to the door and threw it open.

"WHAT IS IT?"

Her mother smiled sweetly - fakely - unperturbed by her bellowing."Your father wants you in the sitting room, dear."

"If he wants me let him call me himself.That would make a goddamn change."

"He's waiting dear.And he has company."

Jade grit her teeth and slammed the door shut.She kicked off her boots and rummaged through her closet until she found one of the pink frilly dresses that she only wore on these _certain_ occasions.Then she washed her face and re-did her makeup in a much milder fashion.There wasn't anything she could do about her hair, but she put it up, making the blue less noticeable.White sandals on, she headed for the sitting room.

"Ah, finally.Toby, this is my daughter, Jadelyn."

Jade's father didn't bother to look at her, just sat back in his chair and gestured, eyes on his friend, another paunchy balding middle-aged man in a suit.He was probably rich.Jade didn't care.

He stood and walked toward Jade, eyeing her the whole time.He noticed the blue streaks.She hoped he wouldn't say anything, or she was in for it.He walked around her, eyes lingering on her breasts and backside.

"I never really thought of doing this," he said, humming slightly."Being a beta myself, we sort of just muddle along.But my boy's got a knot the size of a grapefruit and being confident of where he'll stick it, and an alliance with a smart dealer like you, now that's something worth having."

Jade's father just nodded.Jade set her teeth and waited, making her face utterly blank.She counted in her head, from one on.Somedays she made it into the thousands before they were done looking at her.Potential _buyers_.

Omegas were things.She knew that very very well.

Omegas were sluts, omegas were animals, omegas were prizes for alphas to win.At least that was what they had told her.She knew better now.Betas are sluts.Alphas are animals.But omegas were still prizes for alphas to win... or buy as the case may be.And she was on the auction block.

* * *

Tori stood outside the door, shifting from foot to foot and feeling entirely out of her depth.The house was a mansion, huge and overbearing, with topiary and statuary and a doorbell in the shape of a face.She pressed the tongue of the face and heard the deep bells toll throughout the house.Then she waited.

After about five minutes - or so it felt - and right when she was about to turn around and flee - the door opened and a bright blonde woman smiled at her. (Omega.Like, stereotypically omega.It was kind of a shock.)

"Oh, hello."

"Hello," Tori forced a smile."Is Jade here?"

The woman's smile brightened even further."Oh, are you one of Jadelyn's friends?"She leaned back into the house."Jade!Jadelyn!You have someone to see you."

The thumps announced Jade's arrival, but when she stepped into view in the doorway Tori nearly fell down the steps in shock.Her eyes were clean of kohl.Her boots had been replaced by sandals.And she was wearing an old grey and blue plaid flannel shirt over a short pink baby-doll dress.But when she spotted Tori she glared, and her glare was just as fierce as it had been at school.

Actually, it was fiercer.

"Should I make you a snack?" Jade's mother asked.

"NO," Jade barked.She stepped out the front door and slammed it behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Tori shifted and rubbed the back of her head."I wanted to apologize," she said."I can't... come in?"

"I don't want your stink in my house."

Tori sagged."Look.I'm sorry.Things got out of hand in class today.Beck's nice, but he's yours and I don't want to screw that up.I'm not that sort of girl."

"I couldn't care less what kind of girl you are," Jade said flatly.

"I'm sorry.And I know I... must set you off.You set me off too.But just because we're both..."Tori swallowed.She couldn't say it, not out of doors."...you know, it doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Yes," Jade said flatly, "it does."

"But couldn't we... try?I think it could work.Can't we be friends?"

"You don't want to be friends with me, Vega.I'm poison, the deadly kind."

"I- I don't think so."

"And why would I _want_ to be friends with you?You smell like something the cat dragged in.And I'm not going to be another of the idiots fawning all over you just because you don't sing as revoltingly as your sister."

Jade was hard and bitter and fierce.And it hurt.Tori wished she would stop telling her how badly she smelled.She was very careful with showering and scented soaps.No one else said she smelled whiffy.And the worst was that she couldn't really say it back.Jade's scent was strong but Tori couldn't say that she smelled bad, quite the opposite.But now Tori only felt sad.

At school Jade, in her make-up and boots and awesome outfits, had been charming and confident, even when she was being an asshole.But now she was only angry.There had been a push and pull before, almost like she was trying to draw Tori to her while humiliating her.But now it was only push - a hard cold wall, the color of her blue-green-grey eyes.

"Okay," Tori said.She sighed."If you change your mind, just let me know."

She left.

Jade leaned back against the door and tried to breathe again.She said she wanted to be _friends_.Her sad rodent eyes had pled for it.But it was a lie.She didn't want to be friends.She wanted to knot her and breed her.All alphas were the same.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Rx: Jadelyn West (Age 12)

Hydrochlorine tablets for heat control. 1 20mg tab qd

Oral contraceptive (COCP) 1 10mg tab qd

_Omegas are sluts. Omegas are animals. Omegas are prizes for alphas to win._

When the pharmacist gave her that look after reading her prescription, Jade's eyes darted away and she scraped the toe of her shoe across the carpet.

 

Rx: Jadelyn West (Age 16)

Hydrochlorine tablets for heat control. 2 20mg tab qd, extra prn (as needed)

Oral contraceptive (COCP) 1 10mg tab qd

_Betas are sluts. Alphas are animals. Omegas are prizes for alphas to win._

This time, when the pharmacist wrinkled her nose, Jade just stared at her, flat and deadly, and the stupid beta spilt pills all over the floor.

TV*JW TV*JW TV*JW

Jade kept her body pressed up against Beck's chest, trying to say in the cloud of his scent. Tori was heading past them. She glared to keep the girl moving. That was the best method. Keep her away. Keep her out of range.

Unfortunately, Tori had managed to buddy up with Cat, who was probably Jade's only real friend. Cat was probably an idiot - though Jade was withholding judgement, because all the crazy made it hard to tell. But she had never, ever given Jade a weird look. And when Jade - like an idiot - went to school during her first heat after getting medication, and the alphas had decided to surround her and cat-call and push her into the corner of the cafeteria and cop a feel, Cat had attacked them.

They had both ended up in Mr. Alexander's office. When Mr. Alexander had frowned at Jade and said, "Are you _sure_ you weren't encouraging them?" Cat had screeched, "What's that supposed to mean?" on her behalf. And Jade had decided that she was worth keeping around.

But these days hanging with Cat meant being near Tori, and the only way she could stand being within three feet of the stinky alpha was sitting on Beck's lap. Beck didn't mind some cuddling, but it wasn't really a normal part of their relationship. He was starting to give her weird looks.

She had Beck for a reason. He had been an overly nice beta boy who hadn't worried about stepping on alpha toes, and when Jade had gotten sick of suffering through her heats alone, she had adopted him.

It wasn't perfect. He couldn't knot and he didn't have the endurance to make it through the three days when Jade needed sex more than she needed air. But he also wanted it when she didn't. He didn't complain about the cockblock though, so she didn't complain about him falling asleep on her after a few hours.

She had her pills and she had Beck. With them she could get through anything. And it was so much better than without either. On her first heat she had spent the entire weekend in the bathtub getting very familiar with the detachable shower head. Afterwards she couldn't walk or move her wrist. Luckily, her parents hadn't been home. She hadn't told them when they got back. She wished no one had ever told them, but the stupid beta nurse had called home when she went into heat the second time during PE.

Getting knotted was supposed to make the heats more manageable, but she wasn't interested. She had thought about it, just to piss off her father. He was expecting her to just suffer until he picked the alpha he wanted to give her to. He was an old-school alpha, and he made sure his wife was an old-school omega. And when he found out that Jade was an omega, he expected her to be just like her mom. Well he was shit out of luck with that. And at least he couldn't smell Beck on her after a shower.

Jade had her pills and had Beck and they could get her through the worst her body could throw at her. Well, they had been able to. But now she was in close proximity to an alpha every single day, and she was popping her pills like candy.

And Tori was _still_ giving her the sad, 'can't we be friends' eyes.

She was a dork _and_ an idiot.

TV*JW TV*JW TV*JW

"And Tori, you're with Jade."

Jade froze and shot a look of death over at Tori, who's eyes widened in what looked like actual fear. God, she was the worst alpha Jade had ever met.

"Oh, please, no!"

It was just stage fighting. Was she really that scary? Jade grinned and waggled her eyebrows. Tori was so pathetic about wanting to be friends, but she didn't trust Jade. That was a little hilarious, and it made her feel powerful again.

"Now this is important for everyone, but especially the alphas. This is a stage fight. If anyone makes real contact, or tries to use this as an excuse to make a statement about dominance, you fail the assignment, and you lose half a letter grade in the class."

Tori didn't move after the class had broken up, partners getting together to plan their practice times. Jade sauntered over to her, carefully keeping a reasonable distance between them. "What's the plan?"

Tori gave her a sideways look. "Um, I guess we should meet?"

"Your house, after school, okay?"

"I, uh, okay."

Jade walked away. She could feel Tori's eyes lingering on her ass, and made sure to give a little extra sway to her hips.

TV*JW TV*JW TV*JW

Ringing the girl's doorbell was a lot less satisfying. Alphas were territorial. She was going to be stepping onto her turf. This had been a mistake. Jade's house was out of the question, but she should have picked some neutral ground.

From the other side of the door she heard a shout. "Tori! Get the door! You're the one expecting company!"

There was a thunder of feet coming down the stairs and a small crash as if Tori had knocked over a chair.

Then the door creaked open and Tori peeked at her through the crack. "Hey," she said, awkwardly.

Jade stared at her. "Are you going to let me in?"

Flushing, Tori stepped back, opening the door wider and showing off a perfectly modern house. One of the chairs did look rather askew. An older woman - not much older -, looking rather like Tori, was thumbing through something on her phone. Jade paused on the threshold. _Beta_? She wondered. That might make sense. If Tori had been raised in a family of betas she would have no idea how to act like a proper alpha. The woman glanced up and looked at her, her nostrils flaring and her eyes widening slightly. "Oh, hello," she said, and strode right up to Jade and offered her hand.

_Omega. Mated omega. An omega who acted like an alpha._

Slightly stunned, Jade took the hand and bore the firm grim and shake. Jade caught the flash of a ring on the woman's left hand. She was married, like a beta, not just mated, and yet she had clearly recognized Jade as an omega right away. If the scent wasn't enough, the recognition meant, she had to be one too. But she was looking her in the eyes. Omegas weren't supposed to look people in the eyes.

" _Mom_ ," Tori protested.

"I'm Holly Vega," Tori's mother told Jade.

"Uh, Jade West," Jade replied, hand still tingling from the unexpected shake, the unexpected actions.

Tori hopped up and down, looking like an idiot. "We're going up to my room to practice-"

"Oh no you're not," her mother said. "You're staying right here. You can practice in the living room or the yard."

Tori stuck her chin out in annoyance, but nodded easily, submitting to her mother.

Her mother was an omega. Jade swallowed. Her mother knew that it wasn't safe to let her alpha daughter alone in a closed room with an omega - or, at least that it really wouldn't be fun for Jade. Being in Tori's house was enough of a territorial boundary that she'd crossed. But she wasn't saying anything specific either. She hadn't clued her idiot daughter in that Jade wasn't a fellow alpha. She just told Tori what to do and expected to be obeyed. And she _was_ obeyed.

"We're not going to fight," Tori muttered.

"i thought you said that it was a stage fighting project."

"We're not going to _really_ fight!"

Holly shook her head. "Out in the yard, you two. I don't need any broken furniture."

That was subtle. Tori led Jade into the small backyard. It was fenced in, but the wind and the air carried off their scents. The house was ripe with Tori and another clearly alpha scent, plus the omega richness of her mother and the sharp over-perfumed beta-bland scent of Trina. The yard was a relief.

Jade glanced back through the glass doors and spotted Holly keeping an eye on them. She didn't know what to _think_ about this. She was safe here, it seemed. But she really didn't remember how safe was supposed to feel.

"Okay," said Tori, hopping up to sit on a table and kicking her feet together. "So what are we going to do?"

Jade considered this. Tori was a) a klutz and b) an alpha. One meant equipment was a bad idea, but considering the other, equipment meant she wouldn't actually have to get close to her. "We could use weapons."

Tori's eyebrows shot up and grimaced. "Weapons?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like a stick and a rubber knife. Calm the fuck down, I'm not going to shoot you."

Tori offered a rather embarrassed smile. "If you think it's a good idea."

_If it means you won't have to touch me._

Tori found a cane and a plastic fork and they started to choreograph the scene. It was going better than Jade had expected, until-

"I think it might look good if we did..."

Tori stepped in and put her arm around Jade's neck. She was pressed up against her back. The cane was raised in the air above her head it a rather idiotic kung-fu gesture. Jade couldn't breathe. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose up. Her mouth went wet.

"Do you two want a drink!" Tori's mom waltzed into the yard and they broke apart. Jade gasped for air, and then took the proffered drink gratefully, nearly leaning into Tori's mother, grateful for the unthreatening, uninteresting scent of a fellow omega.

Tori stepped away, staring at them.

"Thanks, Mrs. Vega," Jade said.

Holly smiled. "I'm right through those glass doors if you need anything else."

TV*JW TV*JW TV*JW

It was getting dark. Tori's mom had turned on the lights in the front room. Jade glanced at her watch. "I should go."

Tori leaned back against the lawn table. "You could stay for dinner."

It had gone better than she expected. Jade was kind of crazy and demanding, but it was nice to have someone who really knew what they were doing helping her out. She thought she could really handle all the moves. She hoped it looked as cool as it felt.

Jade gave her a sidelong glance and an arch of an eyebrow. "With Trina? No thanks."

Tori laughed. That was a first - not what she had expected. _With you? No thanks_ "Okay. Thanks for this." She reached out and kind of clapped Jade on the shoulder. "We're going to rock them."

Jade's almost pleasant expression flattened. "Don't touch me," she said, and went through the doors.

Tori balled her hands into fists and stared at the cane lying in the grass. _Dammit_.

She slid back into the house. Jade was with her mother in front of the front door. Her mother had her hand on Jade's arm, speaking to her quietly. Jade was shaking her head. Then her mother handed her her jacket and opened the door.

"Thanks Mrs. Vega," Jade said, "for everything." and she was gone.

Tori's mouth opened, but she couldn't think of anything to say. It was so unfair.

Holly turned and smiled at her daughter. "She's very nice. And so polite."

 _It wasn't fair!_ And Tori wasn't supposed to be jealous of her _mother_! Her hands tightened around the cane and suddenly, unexpectedly, it snapped. Staring at the two jagged pieces she gasped for air, then dropped them and fled. She ran up the stairs to her room and threw herself on the bed.

_Seriously? Seriously?_

She clawed at the blankets. Jade West had managed to make friends with her _mother_ in less than five minutes of conversation, when Tori was just shut out in the cold, like _always_! And why was she so angry? It wasn't fair that she had to be so _angry._

"Tori." Her mother's voice was stern, and Tori considered throwing something. She restrained herself. Holly sat down on the edge of the bed and patted her back. "Tori. You need to calm down."

"I'm not upset," Tori mumbled into the pillow, lying through her teeth.

"I take it she's not polite to you."

Tori sat up. "I don't get it! Why you! Why is she just so cool with you, but not me? Why...?" She frowned. "Why were you keeping an eye on us from the front room? You kept coming and bringing us stuff, and you never do that when anyone else is over."

She had a horrible thought. Jade was an alpha, her mother was an omega. Maybe this was just something about that sort of dynamic that she hadn't noticed before.

But, on second thought, that didn't make sense, because then her mom would probably always bring stuff for her dad, and she basically left him to fend for himself.

"I thought it was a good idea to make sure that Jade always had an out."

Tori frowned as the words registered. _What?_ It didn't make _sense_.

Her mother patted her knee. "Here's the thing, Tori. If you really do want to be friends with her, you're going to have to give her a little space."

"Space? All I give her is space! She just pushes me away!"

"If she's pushing you away, you aren't giving her space."

That was... probably true. "But how can I be friends and give her space?"

"Be friendly, but be _careful_." Her mother sighed. "You need to make sure she always has an escape route."

"Jade doesn't run away."

"This isn't about her using it. It's about not feeling trapped. Even if she doesn't run, she might feel better knowing that she can."

"I'm - I'm not going to attack her!"

It was more likely that Jade would attack Tori.

Holly tapped her daughter's nose. "Knowing intellectually that you're safe isnt' the same as feeling safe. Do you feel safe around a group of male alphas?"

Tori grimaced. "No. Especially not when they're saying stupid shit about female alphas."

Holly took her by the shoulders and looked into her face. "You're going to have to accept that Jade feels that way around you. And you're going to have to deal with that. Okay?"

"... okay."

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It was strange, the idea of Jade being afraid of anything. But her mother was pretty smart, and usually right about things, so Tori really was going to take her advice. She had worked out a plan. She would stay a good six feet away from Jade's personal space, and she would smile and wave. Friendly, but not suffocating. When Cat was around, she would make sure Cat stayed in between them, as a buffer. When she came into a class that Jade was in, she would take a seat on the other side of the room and then smile and wave. It was going to work.

Well, it had been going to work. But she hadn't planned on someone spilling their bottle of linseed oil on the stairs, and she was heading down them as she spotted Jade crossing below, and she hurried, ready to cross her path right at the time to be noticed but at a safe distance, and stepped into the oil slick.

She fell down the stairs, arms windmilling, skidded on the bottom step, and slammed bodily into Jade, sending them both onto the floor in a heap.

The impact knocked the wind out of Tori and she couldn't draw a breath. It seemed to have done the same to Jade, because Jade was just staring at her with an expression of utter disbelief. Finally, Tori hauled in air. "Oh god, I'm so-"

"Get the _HELL_ off of me, _Vega!"_

Tori skittered to the side, one hand landing accidentally on Jade's soft belly and then she rolled away.

Jade stood, brushing linoleum dirt off her black leggings and skirt and cast a look of death at Tori. It was more death than usual. It was - I will grind you into dirt and I will choke you and crush your windpipe, and I will dig my nails into your skin until you bleed, and I will bury your living corpse in a shallow grave.

She stormed off. Tori buried her face in her hands. "Oh god." This really wasn't working out.

"Why are you on the floor, Tori?" Cat's feet were bouncing next to her.

"Jade's going to kill me."

Cat reached down and offered her a hand. She grinned at Tori. "Well, yeah. One way or another."

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The looks Jade had been giving her were not pleasant and happy looks. And _stage fighting_. Tori really wasn't ready for this.

"Butternut!"

But when they actually got going it felt like it was going to be all right. Well, right until she swung her cane and Jade actually screamed.

Mr. Alexander, swinging gently in his wicker basket chair, looked at her sadly. "I do usually see all the alphas in here. But I was hoping that you might be an exception to the rule."

Why did all the faculty have to know that she was an alpha?

"I didn't hit her!" Unsurprisingly, her protests fell on deaf ears.

"I know Jade can be a challenge to your dominance-."

 _Dominance? What dominance?_ Tori wasn't that kind of alpha! And, okay, maybe their first interaction had been a dominance one, but ever since Tori had happily ceded it, and been kind of rewarded by Jade just casually swinging her hips or giving her the eyebrow of incredulity. That was enough.

"It was a stage fight," Tori murmured. "I didn't want to hit her. I didn't mean to hit her." She seriously hadn't felt any contact either, but alphas were known for occasionally going into rages and not remembering anything before or after punching the shit out of someone, and if you did that, you had to be kept in the hospital and watched carefully. She was not ending up there.

"I believe you Tori."

Somehow, glancing from Mr. Alexander to Derek, the beefy alpha security guard, standing with a speculative eye on her, Tori didn't believe him.

"I wouldn't want to hurt Jade! I like her!" _Well_ , "I want to like her. I want her to let me like her."

Mr. Alexander nodded sympathetically. "But she isn't yours, and you're jealous. But it's _wrong_ to take it out on her. You need to control your frustration, especially your sexual frustration."

Tori's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "My _what_?"

"You can't own people anymore, Tori. It's wrong. You have to let people make their own choices, and sometimes they won't choose you. Accept that. Learn to grow. Become a better alpha."

Tori tried not to grind her teeth.

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 _Shit, shit, shit._ Jade could feel the make up running down her face. And then there was Andre, stepping in front of her, catching her in a _lie_. The force of him when he was annoyed was always unsettling because it was so unexpected. And he was going to tell Tori, he was going to ruin this.

It had been a perfect plan. It had been _necessary_. There were only so many pills she could stomach without getting an ulcer, and Tori sprawled all over her - Tori pinning her to the ground - had made the omega in her rise up with a vengeance, and it had taken all her will to not loop her legs around Tori, jerk her in, and grind up against her.

She needed to keep Tori away from her, because she could ruin _everything_. And this way people would keep her away. They wouldn't let the crazy stick-wielding alpha anywhere near poor little Jade.

Andre ran off yelling for Tori and Jade chased him. She really would kill him this time.

She lost him in the cafeteria, and gave up, sinking down against a cement pillar and clenching her fists, grinding her knuckles against the rough stone until they were raw.

She had a new plan now. Mr. Alexander would come after her, and he thought he was so sensitive, so able to understand the omega experience. Fucking beta with a psych-degree. She would duck her head and rub her eyes and say she had done it because she was scared, because Tori was pressuring her, because she didn't want to take her knot.

But no one came for her.

Well, Cat came. "Tori's in detention, _again_."

Jade slammed her locker shut. "And I should care, why?"

Cat gave her an incredulous eyebrow that was clearly an imitation of Jade's own. "She can't go to the party on Friday because she's cleaning food off the black box."

"As if she would go to the party anyway. It's a beta party."

Cat cocked her head and smiled at Jade. "We're supposed to be pretending we think Tori's a beta."

Jade's shoulders dropped. "Thanks for the reminder," she ground out.

"You're welcome! You should come to the party too."

"Haha, no." An omega go to a party? There was risky and then there was just dumb.

"Then you'll... talk to Tori?"

"No."

Cat pouted. "Please? She's really kind of fun. Can't you guys have a truce?"

"How can we have a truce?" That was impossible. The situation was unsustainable as it was, and a truce would only make Tori think that hanging all over her was okay, when it _wasn't_.

"Mmm, you could say, promise not to try to knot me and I promise I won't set you up for more detention?"

"Oh that sounds fabulous. I'll just go try that now."

"Really?"

" _No_."

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But Jade found herself in the black box on Friday night anyway. And she found herself doing other horrifying things, like apologizing (kinda), and breaking Tori out of her punishment. The music still humming in her veins, Tori bobbing beside her, they climbed over the balcony railing and sat on the edge, feet swinging. Jade stared out into space, but was still entirely aware of Tori glancing over at her and then looking away, on repeat.

It wasn't fair. Honorable was one of those medieval qualities that no one was supposed to have anymore. And she was kind of the worst dancer, but Jade liked to watch her anyway. It made her laugh.

Tori made her laugh.

"Couldn't we try being friends?"

Tori, when she wasn't being a pathetic whine-ball, made her laugh.

"No."

Tori flinched back like she was hit.

"Look," Jade said. "I just can't hang out with you."

"Because I smell?" Tori asked, like a five year old.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Yeah. And... other stuff." Like getting her in heat through the pill. Like being endlessly irritating and still kind of sexy. By being one of the like three female alphas on the fucking planet and being _here_ , in her goddamn life, and messing with it. "Let's call a truce."

Tori perked up.

"We can't be friends. And we really can't hang out. But if you... make an effort to keep a three foot radius between our bodies at all times, I will... not have you put in detention again."

Tori ran her fingers through her hair. "I can do that. Well, I can try. I was trying to do that before, when I fell down the stairs. It didn't work so well."

"Try harder."

"I will. So, um. Cat said there was a party. Do you want to go?"

Jade stared at her, and for a moment let herself imagine what it would be like. The betas loved to party, and alphas would come, ready to get rowdy. Some would bring omegas, who were off limits. They would stay in a group, enjoying the vicarious power that came from their association with an alpha. Some omegas would come looking to get knotted. Jade had considered going with Beck once or twice, but it was asking for trouble, and Beck getting beaten up for her was a little more work than he signed up for, and if he wandered off, she was open season for the roaming alphas. But going with Tori...

Having an alpha meant you were off-limits. Getting knotted and scent-marked was enough to keep all the lower totem-pole alphas away. But a girl alpha? Who was lower than that? Gang rape central.

"No," Jade said flatly. "And you don't either."

"We could... do something else. Somewhere, uh, well ventilated?"

Jade stood and swung her leg over the railing. "What part of we're never hanging out didn't you understand?" But she cast a grin over her shoulder as she sauntered away.

She sensed a little flare of interest and put a bit of swing into her hips. That girl hated to see her go, but she loved to watch her walk away. And fucking with people's heads was Jade's favorite activity.

 _Better be careful,_ Jade warned herself, or Tori will become your favorite activity.

And then that would be that.


	3. Chapter 3

_Alpha/Beta relations in the Middle Ages_

by Tori Vega (age 13)

By the Medieval period, clans of alphas and their omega mates had parceled out the land into fiefdoms. The highest ranked alphas would swear lesser alphas into their service as knights. These lesser alphas managed the land that the betas worked.

Genetically, alpha-omega pairs most frequently give birth to other alphas and omegas, with alpha-beta and beta-omega pairs next likely, and beta-beta pairs least likely. In these fiefdoms the eldest male alpha would inherit. Other male alphas, including ones born into beta families, would form roving gangs, ravaging the countryside. Omegas were valuable for mating alliances between families. Betas born into ruling families would frequently become monks and nuns.

Male omegas were particularly valuable, because of sexism. Many powerful alpha males, like Alexander the Great, thought a woman's touch would weaken them in battle, and chose only to mate with male omegas. Alexander was considered strange though, because his main lover was another alpha, Hephaestion. Bagoas, a Persian male omega, bore many children who were said to be fathered by both men.

Alpha females, who are not obviously physically distinct from beta females, were not believed to exist. Those who sought out and mated with omegas were frequently considered succubi and put to death. Some historians believe that Queen Elizabeth I may have been an alpha female. As it was not expected for a supposed female beta to marry an omega - male or female -, Elizabeth did not have the opportunity to produce an heir.

This society was destabilized by population growth. Betas moved to cities when they were no longer needed to farm, and invented many things, beginning the industrial revolution. They also formed police organizations and swayed the alphas into placing restraints on the roving alpha bands. Instead, alphas would give their extra sons to the army and navy. As businesses began to prosper, alphas took an interest, and today many alphas are CEOs and politicians, though it is still possible for betas to compete.

The omega rights movement began when the pills for heat and birth control were developed. First used as a way to control wayward omegas, they soon became a way for omegas to control their own reproductive ability and their destiny. Though omegas rarely become business leaders, politicians or top actors, many find work in schools or as nurses or in minor roles in the arts. One day, we hope, omegas will be given equal chances to succeed and take their places in positions of power alongside alphas and betas equally.

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The party was in one of the super big houses in the Hollywood hills. It wasn't like Jade's house, grim and topiaried. Instead it was all California flat roofs and windows. Kids, some Tori recognized and some she didn't, poured out of the doors and onto the lawn. A washtub of beer seemed to be hosting a game of floating beerpong, and the music, pounding base and sequenced dance patterns felt like it was going to shake down the neighborhood.

Tori stood outside awkwardly and texted Cat. In a few moments Cat burst out through the crowd and hugged Tori, nearly knocking her over. "You're here!"

"Yeah, Cat, I'm here."

"Hey Tori." Beck also emerged from the crowd of people, in his leather jacket, holding a plastic cup full of beer.

"Hey." Tori frowned at him. "What are you doing here?"

Beck laughed. "It's a party. What do you think?"

"But, Jade..."

"Jade hates parties. You wouldn't catch her dead here."

And yet she had paused, as if thinking it over, when Tori had asked her to come. It just seemed wrong that he would go out and have fun and just leave her to entertain herself. "It's friday night and you're not with your girlfriend? I don't know if this is gentlemanly, Beck," Tori sassed, trying not to sound too serious about it.

Cat giggled at her side.

"Hey, hey. I asked if she wanted to hang out, and she said she had something to do." Beck frowned. "Didn't you have something to do? Like detention?"

"Jade came and broke me out." Tori felt her cheeks grow hot at the admittance.

"Aww!" Cat squeezed her around the middle. "She really does like you!"

If anything, Tori's cheeks grew even hotter.

"Hmm," Beck wiggled his eyebrows. "Well, if my girlfriend stood me up for you, it's only fair that I get you for the rest of the night." He slung an arm over her shoulder, and Tori felt her alpha bristle. She clamped down on it. He was just being a friend. "Let's get you a beer."

The house was hot and close, so full of people and wired with hormones that it made it hard to breathe. The stench of sweaty teenagers, Axe and arousal didn't help. Tori had mostly stayed away from parties like this, or parties at all, after a girl went into heat at a sleepover, and Tori had nearly lost control. It was dumb luck that she had eaten a disgusting amount of greasy fried chicken that night, and the excitement, candy, and wild hormones had made her throw up. The host's parents had rounded her up and sent her home. But she was older and more mature now. She could handle it. Everyone else seemed to. And really, there were so many douchey alphas pushing their way through the crowd that any hot-to-knot omega that might show up would be surrounded before Tori did anything revealing.

They lost Cat to a Dragonette song on their way through the living room and then ducked into the kitchen. Beck reached for the keg.

"Is there soda or something?" asked Tori. Drinking lowered inhibitions. Even if it was doubtful anyone would even notice her in this crowd, she didn't need everything to blow up tonight.

"Uh, sure." Beck found a couple of half empty bottles of soda and poured out her pick.

"Thanks."

He gave her a smile that only made her a _little_ fluttery. He was Jade's and off limits, but he was super nice. And, well, he was Jade's, which made him interesting. Jade seemed to like _him_. What made him so special? He was tall, and pretty, with a lot of hair. He would probably keep the hair. Alphas tended to male-pattern baldness more than betas.

"Hey, Beck."

Tori glanced up at the electric bristle up her back and glared at the huge alpha coming through the door.

"Hey, Doug."

The alpha, Doug, gave Tori something that was more of a leer than a smile. "Who's this? She's cute. Less of a crazy bitch than your other bitch?"

 _What?_ Bitch was a degrading word usually used for omegas, or anyone servile, and Tori liked being called it as little as she liked hearing anyone called it. And how _dare_ he insult Jade when she wasn't even _here_. Fury like fire shot down her limbs. "You-" Tori tried to lunge at him, but Beck - almost reflexively - caught her before she could move more than an inch.

"This is my friend Tori Vega. She's new at HA."

"Your friend, eh?" Doug grinned. "Off limits then?"

"Off limits."

"Man, your bitch, Cat, and now this one. Soon you'll have all the hot girls off limits, Beck." Doug slugged him companionably on the shoulder and then sauntered off.

Tori jerked out of Beck's arm and spun on him. "I can take care of myself!"

"Hey!" Beck waved his hands in a calming fashion. "Don't get all riled up. That's just a running joke between me and Doug."

"A joke?"

"My big brother was like the top alpha around here for a while. I know them all pretty well, so they give me respect. I was just letting him know that you deserve respect too."

"Like 'your _crazy bitch_ '?" Tori grimaced - actually bared her teeth - then pressed her lips together quickly. "How can you let them talk like that about her?"

"Um, because I like my head on my body? I'm friends with alphas, but I'm _not_ one." Beck sighed. "Tor, it's just talk. They won't do anything to you or Jade. Alphas act like jerks, they feel like they have to prove who's on top all the time, so the competition is who's a bigger jerk, but that doesn't mean they're all like that."

"There's a fine line between acting like a jerk and being one."

"It's just the way things are," Beck said, shaking his head. "Sometimes you gotta act a certain way to survive. And, Tor, attacking someone three times your weight is not a good plan for survival. You and Jade," Beck shook his head, "you have no sense of self-preservation."

"Do _you_ act like a jerk to survive?" Tori asked, huffing out her anger and trying to get the uncomfortable feeling of... what was it? territorial possessiveness? She hated feeling like this. Being an alpha sucked. And she was still pretty pissed.

"Betas have their own niche. Alphas act like jerks, so to make ourselves look hot in contrast, we like to play the nice-guy role."

"So that's an act too?"

"It's all an act." Beck eyed her. "You're kind of an act yourself."

Tori felt sick. Was she that obvious?

"But, the more you play the role the more natural it gets. Alphas who act like jerks all the time become jerks."

"And betas who act like nice guys become nice guys?"

Beck flashed another smile, but this one fell limply on Tori's lingering agitation.

"I suppose you'll find out."

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They went and found Cat and Andre then, dancing in the middle of the living room, and joined them. Alphas wove in and out, grooving for a bit, grabbing girls who squealed in excitement. Beta couples made out on the dance floor. It wasn't just _dancing_ , not like it had been earlier, when Jade was sneaking her out. The hormones were kind of wearing on Tori, making her head buzz and her stomach knot. She waved to her friends and made bathroom noises and wound her way to the stairs, trying to find a quiet place to regroup for a moment.

She wandered down the third floor hallway, happy to be breathing some air that wasn't thick with sweat, smoke, and that peculiar foul odor that seemed to be a combination of beer and carpet. She pushed open one of the doors.

Two figures were sitting on the edge of the bed, bodies brushing, lips joined in a kiss.

"Oh!" Tori slapped a hand over her mouth, wishing she hadn't exclaimed.

The two beta girls broke up and looked at her. The small one with a cascade of blonde hair narrowed her eyes and glared. "You lost?"

The other grinned awkwardly and threaded her fingers through her dark hair. "Can we help?"

Tori groped for words, "uh, no, I'm sorry. I'm going to go."

"Don't worry about it."

The blonde kicked off her boot and peeled off her sock. She threw it at Tori. It hit her in the face and then dropped into her hands. "Put that on the handle, 'kay? I don't need more tourists watching me macking on my girl."

"Please and thank you," added the other, and then leaned in and captured the blonde's lips.

Summarily forgotten, Tori staggered back out of the room and placed the sock on the handle, as asked. Then she leaned back against the wall and slid down to sit on the hall carpet.

Betas had invented dating, she knew. They had invented marriage as well, but they hadn't invented sexual orientation. Most people assumed that alphas and omegas didn't have any flexibility in their orientation, they were just oriented toward each other, but it wasn't really true. Lots of alphas messed around with betas, and some picked girl betas, some boys, and some didn't care either way. Some alphas formed committed relationships with beta males. There was even a weird movement for a pack-style family unit supported by the neo-traditionalists, who thought that an alpha male should have his omega and then as many betas, male and/or female that he could support. There was definitely the suggestion that he was fucking them all, and that they would all help take care of the children.

Tori had worried about it. Her dad had sat her down and told her that scenting omegas in heat was just biology. What was important was who you chose as a rational, reasonable, affectionate, loving human, not what your body said. Your body would adapt. Alphas who listened too much to their bodies never settled down into happy relationships. "You have to listen to your mind and your heart too."

But that wasn't the whole story, was it? Betas were really the test case, to separate attraction from biological need, and until now Tori had only been attracted to male betas. But that kiss... it had been pretty hot.

Especially the second one.

It had to be the hormones. The house was full of them. Looking up, Tori realized that the thumping she heard from the room across the hall was now accompanied by voices. "Ow!" said a girl. "Can't you get it the fuck out already? I'm sick of this!"

"Hey, sorry. I just-"

There was a small oof and then the door opened, a redhead beta girl emerging, straightening her skirt, along with a nearly overpowering gust of sex air full of alpha hormones.

Upstairs was not going to give her relief. It was time to go home.

Tori snuck down the stairs and nearly made it to the door. But Cat caught her in the entry hall. "Tori! Tori! We're playing games!"

Tori was dragged into a side room where a circle had gathered on the floor. Cat pushed her down next to Beck and across from Andre who grinned and waved. The other kids were mostly HA kids she'd seen in the halls, plus Doug. She stiffened. _Doug_.

"Time for inprov drinking games!" announced Andre. A cup of something pink got pushed into Tori's hand. She sipped it hesitantly. It didn't taste like alcohol at all, and yet...

"Improv?"

Beck grinned at her. "We're not arts students for our resumes. We love this stuff."

"What'll we start with?"

"I like my women!" shouted a boy.

Doug laughed. "I like my women like I like my yogurt."

The boy to his left said "Low Fat!"

"Creamy!"

"Covered in granola!"

"Cultured," said Andre.

"With a cream top."

"Oh, oh, with fruit on the bottom!" said Cat.

Everyone stared at her. "Uh, what?"

Cat cocked her head. "I _love_ yogurt with fruit on the bottom. Sometimes, I even like, just push the yogurt aside and eat that sweet, sweet fruity syrup..."

A few of the guys were shifting awkwardly.

"Pass! That's a pass!" said Andre.

"Uh," Beck looked awkward. "I like my women like I like my yogurt, vanilla."

"Lame!" came a bunch of shouts.

"Tori?" Beck passed on the game. Tori gaped. She was not good at this. And she didn't like her women any way!

"I, um, like my women like I like my yogurt," she repeated, trying to buy time. _yogurt, yogurt._ "with a foil cap?"

Everyone laughed. Tori grinned. Maybe she wasn't terrible at this after all.

After a few rounds and a cup or two of the pink concoction - she had to chug once when she had said "I like my women like I like my seals - with flippers!" She wasn't sure if chugging was supposed to be a positive or a negative. - Tori was feeling much better than she had been earlier, happy and super relaxed. To be honest she was more relaxed than she had been since she had started Hollywood Arts. It felt... _awesome._

The game broke up, Tori still giggling about Cat's last contribution: "I like my women like I like my spinach - hydroponically grown." She stumbled as they headed toward the kitchen, and Beck caught her, giving her an arm to cling to while she found her feet.

"Hold it together, Tor."

Tori grinned up at him. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like a seal?" It was true, all dark brown fuzz of hair that sort of gave his head a seal-like outline.

Beck considered this. "I think not. But it's sexy, right?"

He leaned in and kissed her.

"Mmmm." Tori hummed into the kiss. It was nice. There was a scent on him, not beta-bland, but something warm and comforting, kind of like.... hmm... _kind of like Jade._

_OH SHIT._

Tori shoved him off. "What are you doing? What about _Jade_?"

For a moment she expected him to look puzzled, as if he had drank as much as she had and just forgotten. But he didn't. He just arched an eyebrow. "It's cool," he said. "Jade's cool with it."

Haha, _bullshit!_ "Are you joking? I kissed you in Sikowitz's class and Jade wanted to slit my throat! She got me put in detention for two weeks! There is no way on earth she's cool with it!"

Beck frowned. "We have a deal," he said. "Yeah, she got pissed that time, but that was about _you_."

"What?"

Beck shrugged. "You two were having some weird bitch match or something. Just for future reference, I don't like being a poker chip, 'kay? I was just figuring we could make out or hook up or whatever you were up for. You and Jade made up, so it wouldn't be a thing."

"No," Tori said. "Just no. It's still cheating, even if you have a _deal_." The idea of a deal kind of made her sick. Jade deserved better than that. It made her more than sick. It made her _angry._

"It's cool," Beck stepped back, raising his hands as if in surrender. Tori swallowed. Did she look _that_ pissed? She _felt_ that pissed. "If you don't feel it, I'm not pushing it."

Tori shook her head. "I don't feel it," she said and started fighting her way through the crowd toward the kitchen. She needed another drink. Beck was _nice_ , right? He was supposed to be nice. And Jade was like, in her scary old house with her scary retro-omega mom, and wasn't _here_. She couldn't say if she was pissed at Beck for messing around. It wasn't fair. God, where was that pink stuff?

Most of the drinks were gone by now. She mixed the dregs of a vodka bottle with lemonade and sucked down half of it while in the kitchen. When was it going to start working? She didn't like feeling this upset.

It was time to go. She'd find Cat and Andre and tell them she was leaving. There were too many jerks here, and they weren't all alphas.

Passing the stairs, she smelt something odd. It stopped her. Sex and fear. Most everyone smelled like sex, but this scent was different. It was familiar. And the fear made it distinctive. Fear, anger and alphas.

"Who are _you_ to tell me what I can and can't have, beta _bitch_?"

"Get away from her!"

Alphas, a big alpha she didn't know was pinning the blonde from before against the wall. She was glaring. The other girl - the nice one - surged toward him, but another alpha grabbed her. The big one seemed to have a posse, two or three other alphas who had his back. The blonde lifted her head and spat in the big alpha's face. The big alpha's fist came back winding up a serious punch, and Tori lunged. Jumping, grabbing his arm, she was dragged off her feet. The alpha, swung around, dropping the blonde to lay a fist in Tori's gut.

The next few moments were nothing but confusion. Tori punched anything that looked like alpha. She caught a glimpse of the blonde doing her best to claw out the big alpha's eyes. The other girl twisted out of her captor's grip and clocked him under the chin. There was a crash and then it was over. She found herself standing next to Doug, the big alpha laid out at their feet. The blonde girl had a split lip and a bloody nose and was holding a beer bottle by the neck. The base had been shattered, and she was using it to keep the rest of the posse at bay. The other one was wringing her hand. Tori couldn't feel anything.

Doug glanced down at her. He clapped her on the back. "Good one," he said. He grabbed the rest of the posse by the collars and dragged them off.

Tori swallowed. She tried to bend her fingers and pain shot up her hands, and she doubled over, bringing them to her stomach.

"Yeah," said the blonde, swirling the beer bottle like a very deadly baton. "I coulda taken him, but thanks anyway." She offered a fist bump. Tori accepted a very soft, very loose bump. It was still insanely painful.

The other girl wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders and grinned at Tori. "Really thanks. It's nice to know there are some good-guy alphas around."

Tori gulped. Oh god, she had totally just outed herself, hadn't she?

"Oh My God Tori! That was so, so cool!" Cat shrieked, bounding up to her. "And," she cocked her head, "really kind of hot." And then Cat had looped her arms around Tori's neck and was kissing her.

Oh god, Tori barely managed to think. How was this her life?

  



	4. Chapter 4

_Things I hate about being an omega - Jade West_

1) My body.

Now don't get me wrong here. I have great tits and nice hips, and even though they're 'traditionally omega' I don't give a shit. They do their job. What I hate is the lack of control. Why should my body get to decide what I do? Sometimes I try to fight my heat for as long as possible, hands off, clenching the sheets, not giving in. Sometimes I can last a couple of hours before I feel like I'm going to explode and I just roll over and shove my fingers into me.

The other thing I hate about my body is how people think it gives them the right to tell me what to do. My dad's the worst of the lot, but he's not the only one. The school nurse, telling me to stay home for at least three days whenever 'I need it,' Mr. Alexander, gathering 'the omega girls' into his office and telling us about personal safety. How much bullshit can you get about 'Don't stay out at night. Avoid mind altering substances. Stay ten feet away from alphas at all times.' “You wouldn't want to _tempt_ them, would you? It's not like they can control themselves around omegas.” That's total crock. If I'm in high heat I'm not going to go up to an alpha and climb in his lap and expect him to not take that as an invitation to knot me, but during the rest of the month, I shouldn't _have_ to watch myself. They should watch _them_ selves _._ And yet everyone's all so sensitive about how alphas have such a hard time controlling their _urges_. Everyone knows that they can control themselves as well as anyone, but why should they bother, when they always get off scot-free? It's always the omega's fault, because omegas are so tempting, even if she wasn't in heat, even if she was totally sober.

It's fucking hard to control your body when you're an omega. But we're the ones who get blamed for alphas not being able to keep their knots to themselves.

2) Being a belonging.

Omegas get blamed for everything, and they always spin it in the name of 'protection.' "Omegas need taking care of, because they're so tempting and they can't help it, oh _no_." It makes me sick. It's blatant hypocrisy. Omegas were born to be victims, but who's hurt if an omega gets raped? Not the _omega_. You know your laws are shitty if the rape statute for omegas includes a note about the violent retribution that the rights-bearing alpha is legally allowed to take. First of all, rights-bearing alpha? For me, that's my dad. If he were dead and I had an alpha brother, it would be him. If I were mated, it would be my alpha husband. They have _rights_ , and one of their rights is to fuck up anyone who touches me. Oh wait, and, if they think I led him on, they can beat me as well.

There's a movement to get that shit repealed from the books, but alphas like it. They think it's the way things ought to be, so the government is whimpering some bullshit about states' rights.

Until I turn eighteen, I'm legally a possession, and if I get mated before I turn eighteen - which is totally legal with my rights-bearing alpha's permission - I will always be one.

I will always be a slave to my body, but one day when I get knotted and mated I'll be able to handle it better. I'll want sex, but it won't be the fuck or die imperative it is right now. But even when that day comes, I will still be a slave.

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"Hey," Beck said. He settled onto the bed.

Jade sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. She was so tired. Getting home on Friday night, her father had actually sniffed at her, and looked disgusted. "I can't tell what's worse - the alpha scent on you or the... onion dip? You know I told you to stay away from them!" The next night he had forced her to come out and have dinner with a bunch of his business cronies. He had chosen her food for her, and glared at her if she even looked away from her plate. He had also gotten her a shrimp pasta - with the horrible revolting tails on - and she had just glared at it for nearly the whole dinner. Sunday was the first time she could escape and she headed straight for Beck's RV.

She felt the early twinges of heat coming on - breasts tender, sore muscles, tightening in her gut. It was early this month. She had a couple days, a week tops before it would become apparent to every alpha within scenting distance. The pills were doing shit to keep it down. It felt like it would be bad too.

Fucking alphas.

Beck sensed her exhaustion and squeezed her arm. "Sucky weekend?"

"No kidding. How was the party?"

"Pretty cool. Tori showed up, said you had broken her out of detention."

Jade rolled her eyes. She _would_ blab. "Can you believe that she was just going to take it? She is such a doormat."

"She's a pretty cute doormat."

Jade pulled away slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Beck shrugged. "I kissed her."

Jade froze, her lips curling back from her teeth, her fingers clenching into the mattress. "You did _what?_ "

"Hey, it's our deal, right? I was just going to make out with her a little."

It was their deal. Beta boys didn't have the endurance to maintain for a full heat, but they were horny in the interim too. Jade didn't really like sex when she wasn't in heat, and she refused to do it when she didn't have to. She had considered it, even sat across the room once while Beck macked on a Northridge beta girl and watched. She had wondered whether it would turn her on. It hadn't. It had, however, terrified the Northridge girl to such an extent that she had fled with her shirt half off.

"She seemed into it, but she made me stop because of you. She said it was cheating even if we had a deal."

Jade blinked.

"I figured she might be right. I mean, usually it's girls you don't know and who don't go to our school. But Tori's our friend, kinda, so I wanted to double check that you'd be cool with it."

"No."

Beck blinked, jerking slightly away from her. "What?"

"You deaf? I said no. I'm not _cool with it._ "

"Why not?"

"I don't have to explain myself," Jade snapped. "I said _no_. Hook up with all the beta girls you want, but Tori's off limits!"

"That's not _fair_ , Jade. I know you guys have issues, but this isn't about you! She's cute, and she's a beta, and I really kind of _like_ her."

Jade considered clawing his eyes out. Then she considered scarring Tori's face with acid. That would solve the problem of everyone finding her _cute_. Dammit. "We made a _deal_ ," Jade said. "We said you would take care of me until the end of high school or until my dad finally makes good on his threat to give me to one of his douchebag cronies, and I said that you could put your lips all over any beta girl you pleased in between my heats, as long as they were aware that _I_ came first, right?"

"Yeah. I don't see what the problem is. Tori knows about the deal, so if you just reassure her that she has permission, it'll be good. She already is all, 'but Jade, Jade, Jade,' so that knowing that you come first isn't a problem."

Jade laughed, but it was as bitter a laugh as she had ever laughed. "Oh, yeah, so it's no problem. Jade has given you permission to service her boyfriend when she's not interested. You'd really say that to her? You don't think that's degrading?"

Beck made a face. "Well..."

"And what are you going to do when she tosses her hair over her shoulder and says, 'oh, sugarplum, you know I love your cock, but cain't you just take me to a picture show this weekend. I know Jadey's supposed to have you, but if you _really_ liked me, you'd do me this one tiny little favor.'"

Beck made a confused face. "She really doesn't talk like that."

"I don't care."

"Are you worried that she'd try to mess up our deal? Because I really don't think-"

Jade could not give a damn what he thought. If it had been Tori instead of that Northridge girl she would have just shoved Beck off the sofa and climbed into her lap. But there was no way she was telling Beck that. She was sick of Tori taking her things, Cat and now Beck, and she was even more sick of other people trying to take Tori. Being Beck's slut on the side was totally degrading, and Tori might be a doormat, but she wasn't that much of a doormat. Beck was an idiot if he thought she'd go for it. But if Beck wanted her enough to try, he just might want her enough to break their deal and offer her a real relationship. And that was not okay on _any_ level.

Jade's hand slammed into Beck's chest and she shoved him back onto the bed. She jerked her scissors out of her bag and spread the blades, pressing the cold metal up against Beck's head. "You don't touch Tori. If you get your filthy little paws anywhere near her, I'm giving you a buzz cut without a razor, got it?"

Beck gulped. "Got it."

He hardened under her, the slut. He'd kissed Tori. She leaned down, wondering if the faint scent that still clung to his clothing was hers. His lips were pursed in a slightly worried expression. The thought of him kissing her, the memory of it from Tori's first day at school, it was infuriating. It had been disgustingly sweet, and Beck had been nothing but sweet back. Tori didn't need _sweet_. She needed something better than that. Jade kissed Beck, kissed him properly. There wasn't any goddamn need for sweet. And she wasn't in heat yet, but it was probably close enough for her to get off. She ground down on Beck's hips.

 _Maybe_ , she thought _, getting off today will make school tomorrow less hellish_. But somehow, she doubted that would be the case.

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Jade was pulling her boots back over her leggings. Beck was laying back naked in bed, half covered by a blanket. He groaned. "God Jade, you sure you're not in heat yet?"

Jade snorted. "I'm sure."

It hadn't been great, but it had been good enough. It had taken the edge off, and her body wasn't aching pathetically, wondering why she wasn't being filled. That would come with the real heat.

"You know," Beck mumbled, "at the party, Cat kissed Tori too."

" _What!_ "

Beck grinned. "Just... don't do to Cat what you did to me for it. I don't think she'd ever recover."

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"What's this I hear about you kissing Tori?"

Cat grinned and bounced up and down, clearly unthreatened by Jade's number six glare of death. "Don't worry! It was just one, and I just totally _had_ to. It was so hot, her going all violent alpha like that."

Jade stopped. "What? What happened?"

Cat pointed.

Tori was coming in through the main doors. Jade's eyes were instantly drawn to the entirely season-unsuitable fingerless gloves, clearly there to hide the athletic tape and bandages that peeked out from underneath. Item two was the black eye, concealed ineptly by what was clearly Trina's handiwork.

"Oh god," Jade groaned. "What did she do?"

"She and Doug and two beta girls from out of town fought a pack of alphas. They won."

"So, does everyone know now?" If that cat was out of the bag it would probably be good to let Tori see the other cat so she didn't try to drag Jade down with her. Jade frowned as she considered her earlier conversation with Beck. Did he know? Was he seriously considering going after an alpha?

"I think we're good," said Cat. "I told everyone that the beta girls were Tori's friends, so she had to get involved when they were hassled. And one of them was kind of crazy angry. If anyone's wondering about a female alpha, they're probably wondering about her."

Jade nodded, considering this, still watching Tori as she made her way to her locker, and then winced while she tried to open it. "God," Jade muttered. "She looks like such a victim."

"I know, right!" Cat grinned at her.

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Why are you happy about that?"

"It's an awesome disguise. And really, the awesomest part is that it's only kind of a disguise."

Jade didn't think that was awesome at all. It was just _weak_.

Cat cocked her head and considered Jade. "You know, I always thought you would make a good alpha."

"I happen to agree."

"And if she were your omega, there wouldn't be any of this…" she waved her hands wildly and completely incomprehensibly. "You would just be like, _bam_! 'Stay away Jackoffs!'"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

Cat, surprised at having her line thrown back at her, stuck out her lower lip and widened her eyes. "Nothing. Just, you know, you'd protect her, and she'd like it."

Jade took at deep breath, through her mouth, (the nose was dangerous these days). "No," she said. "She wouldn't like it. And if she did, she shouldn't. I can't say I wouldn't try to look after her, but if she had any guts at all, she'd hate it."

"What's wrong with being protected?"

"It's not the protection," Jade said. "It's everything that comes with it. It's the way that people who think they're protecting you are controlling your life."

"You wouldn't do that."

Jade smiled. "Of course I would."

Cat chewed her lip, clearly realizing the truth of that statement.

"I would boss her better than any of the bullshit alphas trying to do it to me." It was a pleasant thought, really. And she wouldn't subscribe to any of the omega crap that they mostly got put through. She would make Tori do much more interesting things. She might even make her a star, just to see if she could, and then at home she'd make her a pet. Those thoughts made her squirm slightly, and it was time to change the subject.

"Hey guys." Tori had come up to them, and Jade jerked back. _What the hell_! If this was what the result of the truce was going to be - her acting like they were all friends now - it had been a worse idea than she thought.

"Hi Tori!" Cat squeaked.

Jade glared at her and then turned it on Tori. "What's this I hear about you macking on my boyfriend _and_ my best friend on Friday night?"

Tori gulped.

A rather bitter voice in Jade's head decided to take Tori’s part. " _Jealous_?" it asked, and Jade told it to shut up.

 


	5. Chapter 5

_Danneel Harris, female alpha?_

In an exclusive interview with PACK! Magazine, Danneel Harris dropped the bomb that she's an alpha.

Excerpt:

DANNEEL: Yeah, it was kind of awkward. I was a pretty late bloomer, which made it even more embarrassing when I was just - OMG, _omega_.

PACK!: Did you ever act on those feelings?

DANNEEL: (Raises an eyebrow) I was a _teenager_.

PACK!: So, _yes?_

DANNEEL: Yes. I had some... very close omega girlfriends in high school.

PACK!: But now you're married, we hear.

DANNEEL: Yep. It's great. We wanted a beta ceremony so we could invite or friends and family. Mating's great, but I think the betas really understand how to build community.

PACK!: So, you and Jensen are mates then too?

DANNEEL: It was kind of crazy, you know, because I met him, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I mean, I like beta boys as well as anyone, and I had had my omega girlfriends - well, that probably shouldn't have been the past perfect tense - but Jen was something else. He smelled amazing, and he was super cute, and to be honest, I had no idea how much my hormones were reacting to him until he disappeared for a couple of days and I chased him down, finding him in the middle of a heat, and well, that was that. I just knew that I wanted him - for more than right then, though I wanted him right then too. (She grins.)

PACK!: There aren't that many male omegas.

DANNEEL: There aren't that many female alphas! No, I know just how lucky I am. But I also know that, well, it's _Jensen_ , it's not the omega thing. I've met a few other male omegas in my charity work, and they're just people. Some I like, some I don’t. I liked Jensen. But if he had been a female omega, or a beta, I think I would have liked him just as much.

PACK!: How do you deal with security?

DANNEEL: Ever since Jensen came out we've had to be careful. Luckily the sets up in Vancouver are tightly closed, and he has a driver. When I told my agent I was planning on doing it too, she kind of flipped, and I've been jammed by security ever since. But I think it's worth it. What Jensen does for other male omegas, trying to get the rumors and myths out in the open and debunked, I think that's even more important for female alphas.

PACK!: Do you have something you want to say?

DANNEEL: I'd like to say that you don't have to be afraid, but a lot of times that isn't true. People are scared of what they don't understand. They're scared of things that aren't 'normal,' but it's so important to find a safe place to be yourself and to have people who accept you anyway. If no one ever knows that we actually exist no one will ever stop being afraid. Secrecy isn't the answer, but I'm coming out so that other girls, trapped in the tangled hormonal mess of high school, might have the chance of being able to be honest and not get hurt for it. That's all I want.

PACK!: Very moving. Thanks Danneel!

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Trina, who had come to pick Tori up from the party, was entirely unimpressed. Her mother was also less than thrilled at her swollen hands and swelling eye. Her father, on the other hand, was clearly trying not to be obviously totally proud of her. He bopped around, trying to be helpful, and occasionally giving her a slap on the shoulder. Finally, her mom hustled him out of the room so she could tend Tori's wounds in peace.

"It's been a long time since I had to do this."

Tori's eyes widened. "You had to do this for dad?"

Her mom twitched a smile. "As I said. It's been a long time. Want to tell me what happened? Was it your friend?"

 _What_? Tori blinked. Her friend? Did her mom mean _Jade_? "Uh, no. I saw Jade earlier tonight. She, um, helped me with the detention. But she didn't want to go to the party."

"It seems like she made a smart decision."

"Maybe." Tori wanted to duck her head but she had to keep the ice pack on her eye. "I just... There were these girls, and they were a couple, and one of the alphas was getting pushy. And then the little one spat in his face! He was going to punch her. What was I supposed to do?"

Her mom rubbed her shoulder. "Some people might not feel like they could make a difference, even if they weren't afraid to get involved."

"I probably would have gotten squashed if this big alpha, Doug, didn't step in. But... I'm not sorry I did it."

"That's my girl!" her father was sticking his head in the door. Her mother threw a wet rag at his head.

She spent the rest of the weekend with her dad. He bought her ice cream and they hung out in the park. "Is this what alphas do?" she asked, lifting the ice cream cup, which had a pleasant numbing effect on her throbbing hands.

"Smart ones," he remarked. "You've never really been interested in what it meant to be an alpha." He looked at her. "Are you interested now?"

Tori tried to flex her hands. "I dunno. I guess. I mean, I'm not sure how much it matters. I'm _not_ an alpha."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not one of the guy alphas, and knowing what they do and how they think isn't really going to help me. I'm not even part of that group enough to get kicked out of it.

"If word gets out, they're going to be interested in you. And that could be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you have on your side."

"I don't have _anyone_ on my side."

"You've made friends."

Tori made a face. Andre, Robbie, and Cat were great, but against a pack of pissed off alphas they were going to be as useful as a wet piece of cardboard. Beck had tried to help, introducing her to Doug, getting her 'protection' or something from him. And Doug didn't seem to be the worst alpha she had ever met. He was a jerk, but he had fought on the right side. If things got bad she might be able to ask him for help. But if things got bad it might already be too late. If she had managed to out herself last night, she had to be really careful not to piss anyone off.

Tori made a face. There were probably a thousand ways to piss off an alpha. Number one was looking like you were making a claim on an omega. Alphas always thought they had first dibs on any omega girls around.

That was luckily not going to be a problem.

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At school on Monday, Jade kept _looking_ at her. Tori knew she shouldn't have let Trina do the makeup for her eye, because she was terrible at it (not to mention the great pain that Trina had managed to bestow while doing it.). But Jade had mocked her for kissing Beck and Cat - though neither of those things had been her fault! - and she had let her alone about the fighting.

It was... vaguely unnerving.

And Jade was smelling _really_ good today. There was a new overtone to the familiar scent. She wanted to ask what it was. Maybe essential oils, or something? It didn't have any of the horrible chemical odors that artificial scents usually did. What was it?

Tori leaned closer, and then realized that she had just started to sniff Jade's neck in the middle of class. Jade turned and glared, and Tori shoved her chair backward. _Bad plan. Bad plan!_

Three foot radius, they had agreed on that.

She was scrupulous about it for the rest of the morning.

The party was on most people's minds that day, and Tori felt a few more sets of eyes on her than usual. But so far she hadn't heard any whispers of the 'female alpha' kind. At lunch she moved slowly through the tables, ears open, checking to make sure.

There were a few alpha tables, each with a rank. The top alphas, who tended to be graffiti artists and breakdancers, were mostly chill, a couple with clingy omega girlfriends; the others hooked up with betas. Second level alphas clustered in the trumpet section, trying to blow the French horn’s brains out through their ears. The perfectly coiffed auditions-for-commercials every week hair gel crowd was mostly betas, with a few leading-man alphas mixed in, but they mixed in with the alpha crowd, and seemed to get a bit more respect than the serious drama-geeks or the conservatory musicians.

There were more alphas at Hollywood Arts than there had been at her old school. But that made sense. Alphas knew they belonged in the spotlight. No male alpha was ashamed of being an alpha. They never tried to hide it. She had heard of some beta boys trying to fake it, to get the roles and the other benefits, but apparently the male alphas had certain locker room rituals which weeded out the pretenders.

There also seemed to be fewer omegas. As a new student, Tori hadn’t been there during all the first heats, when the rumors were going around like crazy, so she was out of the loop. She could only spot omegas by the way they behaved, or by seeing who missed school for a few days every month. The ones who hung onto their alphas for dear life were easy enough to identify, but the others tended to disappear into the background. The only real clue was that they got bullied more than other girls.

After much consideration, Tori had decided that probably the entire viola section of the orchestra were omegas - or maybe you just got bullied for playing the viola. But even when Tori counted all the violas and a few of the cellos, there still seemed to be too few omegas.

25% of the population was supposed to be omega. There had even been a male omega at her old school for a little while, who had been found out when he had gotten knotted in the locker room, been bullied mercilessly, and then disappeared. Tori just hoped he hadn't killed himself.

But at Hollywood Arts, there were barely a handful. But that made sense, right? Omegas weren't supposed to seek attention. Beta girls tended to get all the roles, including the ones that were supposed to be omega characters.

Tori wended her way through the outdoor cafeteria, skirting the alpha tables widely. But as she passed the lowest rank alpha table, the wind picked up and caught the page of the tabloid they were reading and blew it up and right into her face. An alpha got up, laughing, and peeled it off of her. Tori only got a glimpse of it, but it was enough to see the image of a busty, confident redhead actress and the line in huge print - " _Danneel Harris - Female Alpha?_ "

"I'd knot that shit."

"Yeah, totally. Give me a half an hour with her and she won't be crying alpha no more. Well, she'll be crying 'oh, alpha, alpha, give it to me!'"

"You think alpha girls have a knot? That would be gross, right? You think they'd cry like beta girls do sometimes when they take a knot?"

"There aren't any alpha girls. They're just lesbian betas who want omega pussy."

"But the article says she mated with Jensen Harris. That's a dude."

"A dude _omega_. I didn't say they just wanted _female_ omega pussy."

"Uh..."

Tori fled.

Jade was sitting alone at the lunch table, glaring death in the direction of the alpha table.

Tori swallowed and sat down across the table from her. Three feet. The truce had been going well. Keeping her distance was fine. She felt more stable, less like she was going to go crazy. It was funny, because she liked the way Jade smelled, while she hated the way the alpha guys smelled, but the response to it was the same: tension, nausea, headaches. "Alpha guys are such jerks," she offered.

The glare of death swung around and fixed on her. "I hate alphas," Jade said.

Tori winced. Was that comment actually or just incidentally directed at her? "Yeah," Tori said weakly. "Me too."

Jade snorted.

"I mean," Tori prodded her salad with her fork. "Not all alphas. You don't _have_ to be a jerk to be an alpha... like, my dad is an alpha, and he's nice. Alphas are always like - oh, our hormones mean we have no self-control - but really! It's not that hard! It's totally possible to control your hormones and not throw yourself at every omega you see! It's important to really _like_ someone."

Jade was giving her an incredulous look of the 'are you seriously still talking' type.

"My dad doesn't act like a stupid alpha," Tori finished weakly.

"Your mom's an omega."

Tori felt herself turning red. "Yeah."

Jade raised an eyebrow ironically. "Then he's probably mated. Mated alphas don't usually act so much like stupid alphas."

Tori stared at her. She hadn’t really been listening. There was something distracting about the arch of the eyebrow and the slight eyeroll. She shook it off. "What?"

"Don't you know _anything_?" Jade rolled her eyes. "Everyone always talks about knotting and breeding," she made a face. "But mating isn't sexy, I guess. It's just disgusting."

She stood up, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and left the table. Tori sat by herself, a little stunned, possibly by the boots. Jade had really awesome boots. She swallowed down the extra spit that had gathered in her mouth, and frowned. Mating was disgusting? Now she was even _more_ disgusting, and she didn't know why.

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The thing was, mating wasn't supposed to be disgusting. It was supposed to be _nice_. Like, if people really liked each other, and, well, hooked up frequently, they might end up mating. In most of the alpha/omega romance movies it was part of the payoff: alpha and omega go to bed together and come out mated, and isn't that romantic? Though in real life, people who decided to do it had to fill out a ton of paperwork and get blood tests before they were given the serum that made it happen.

She had sort of picked up that it made alphas not that interested in other omegas and omegas not so sensitive to other alphas. It also changed the omega's scent, so that for most alpha/omega pairs it counted as a marriage license, essentially. But her parents had gotten married like betas. It made sense that they'd be mated too. But she still didn't know what was supposed to be disgusting about it.

Tori asked the internet.

Wikipedia, as always, knew all. "Mating, once considered apocryphal, has now been discovered to be a glandular effect. In certain situations - low stress, stable prospects, high-nutrient diet - an omega will release particular hormones while in heat which activate the scent glands, making her available for mating. Contact between a breeding-age alpha-omega pair at this time will cause an adjustment in the chemical production of the scent glands of the omega, making her scent less appealing to other alphas [Johannsen and McGill 2009] and more appealing to the alpha involved [citation needed]. This adjustment increases fertility in the omega, and possessive, defensive behavior in the alpha, supporting the formation of monogamous family units."

The biology of it was sort of weird, and really, TMI. But she still didn’t know why it was disgusting. Tori glanced at the outline of the rest of the article.

"1.1 Etymology

2.1 History of the Scientific Discovery of the Biological Basis of Mating

2.2 Biological function

..."

She clicked on 2.2, saw a diagram of a knot with an arrow pointing to the base of it, with the caption "prolonged glandular contact" and felt ill. Quickly she scrolled down and blinked as a title announcing "Abuses" appeared on the screen. She read it.

"After the mating process was discovered and the method standardized, chemicals were synthesized to induce a mating heat. These chemicals were intended to make it a matter of choice, rather than natural accident, to form long term bonds. Certain parents, however, wishing to make bonds between their children, would force mating contact at early ages. Unscrupulous alphas have used these chemicals to build harems, and/or facilitate rape.

“Omegas as property: In the years before omega rights became active and also currently in many less developed civilizations, the mating bond is considered a mark of ownership rather than partnership. Mated omegas found alone were prosecutable, and if found with a man not their mate-pair they could be stoned to death.

“Laws: Since the omega was assumed to have to be receptive to the alpha, evidence of a mate-bond was used to deny many claims of rape. The expanding black market for mating-heat triggering chemicals has made the legal community begin to question this attitude, but it is difficult to combat widespread prejudice. Even naturally mated or consensually mated pairs are not free from conflict. Yet many cases of domestic violence of a sexual or non-sexual nature have been ignored due to the existence of the mating bond."

It went on, and _on_. Tori put her hand to her mouth. This was awful. How could everyone say mating was so super romantic when stuff like this happened? Jade was right. It _was_ disgusting.

It was also unpleasantly arousing. Sometimes she hated being an alpha. She rubbed the base of her wrist. Just because her kind threw their weight around like idiots, it didn't mean she had to. She wasn't a stupid alpha who thought with his knot. She didn't _have_ a knot. That meant she probably didn't have the mating glands either, so this wasn't even her problem. She scrolled upwards, carefully keeping the picture of the knot hidden at the top of the screen, and read what came below it.

"Mating is most frequently instigated through sexual contact. It involves stimulation of the alpha preputial mating gland, which will secrete fluids. These fluids, coming into contact with an omega in a mating heat, will be absorbed through the skin and trigger the alteration in the scent glands."

"Oh gross," Tori said. Secreting fluids. She was done now. Jade was right - being an alpha was wildly disgusting, and she was back to wishing she had been born a beta.

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Jade woke up from a highly explicit dream and swore. It was fucking Wednesday. She had told her teachers that she would be missing on Thursday. But no, her body wanted to get things moving a little earlier this time. It was just the first day. Not _too_ bad yet. She could go in, get her homework, grab Beck and bail. She popped about six heat suppressants and got into the shower.

She showered twice. It was necessary.

Luckily, the spiking hormonal levels from her dream started to calm and she managed breakfast with only one small comment from her mother about taking her pills. Great. Even after six pills and two showers her mother thought she smelled like a brothel. Lovely.

It wasn't bad yet. She just thought about Beck. She would have him soon, and it would be okay. She would be okay.

That was her mantra. It was a big fucking lie, but it had worked well enough until now. And it worked, right until she walked into school, and spotted Tori, standing at her locker, facing away from her, and saw her freeze.

Jade didn’t move.

Tori pressed her hand to her mouth and nose, covering them, and then slowly, _slowly_ , turned.

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Tori had to grab her locker when the waft of air came in from the open door. It smelled like someone's first heat. It made her knees give out.

 _What the hell_? _What was a girl on her first heat_ doing _here_?

She glanced to the side, spotting an alpha at his locker. He had glanced up, but then went back to sorting through his books, as if it wasn't the strongest scent he'd smelt in his _life_.

She had to look.

Carefully, not wanting her knees to give up on her and send her crashing to the floor, she turned.

It was Jade. Jade was watching her. Jade was filling the entire hall with scent. Her eyes were dilated. The tip of her tongue peeked out of her mouth, and she licked her lips.

Tori could do nothing but stare. She couldn't even think. She couldn't move.

" _Tori?"_ Was that Cat? It sounded a thousand miles away.

She could smell Jade. She could smell heat. She could smell the wetness seeping down her thighs. And Jade was moving - moving toward her.

Jade grabbed her arm and jerked her away, down the hallway, and into the Janitor's closet. She half-hurled Tori across the small room, and Tori stumbled backwards until her back hit the wall.

"What are you staring at!" she snapped.

Words were not really working for her today. Tori could only stare, at Jade's lips, at the pale skin of her neck, at the smooth slope of chest and the slight rise of breasts. Her face felt hot, breath short. Her mouth was wet. It had never been this wet.

"So you're just staring? That's it? Did I _break_ you? God. I've never met a more defective alpha!"

She shoved her. Tori's head snapped back, connecting with the wall.

Jade's hands balled into fists, she raised them and clenched in exasperation. "Goddammit!"

Her hand slid around to cup the back of Tori's neck. The tips of her nails left divots in Tori’s skin. Tori had forgotten how to breathe.

Jade surged forward, pressing against her, hip to hip, belly to belly, chest to chest, and lifted her head to kiss her.

Their lips met.

Tori let out a whimper.

Jade's mouth was hot and wet. Her nails raked lines into her skin. Tori let her hands settle at Jade's waist, let her eyes flutter shut.

For a moment, time stalled, the world faded, leaving nothing but heat and scent and desire.

Jade jerked back. Tori's lips tried to follow her.

"Damn you." Jade shoved her off and swung toward the door. "I put it right in your hand and you can't even _take it_ , like a _real_ alpha."

The door slammed behind her.

Tori's knees finally gave up the ghost and she slumped to the floor.

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Jade stormed out of the closet. What the hell did she have to _do_? She would have given it up in the god damned janitor's closet like some kind of whore.

Beck was across the hall. She grabbed him by the collar.

"We're getting out of here now."

"What? Already? I've got to get work from my classes-"

This seriously wasn’t going to wait.

" _NOW_."

  



	6. Chapter 6

Questions about Sexuality for Teen Alphas and Omegas – sponsored by Planned Packhood

Dear Planned Packhood,

So, there’s a girl in my school who smells really awesome all the time, and then she went into heat and I knotted her, and now I just want to be with her all the time. Did we accidentally mate? I kind of hope we have. –Sappy Alpha

Dear Sappy Alpha,

Don’t be sad, but it sounds like a crush to me! You’ve fallen for your awesome omega, and it’s really romantic. But only .5% of natural mating heats ever occur in high school. They tend to cluster around ages 26-28, when the stress of school and new jobs starts to settle down. Enjoy being in love, but you don’t have to worry about the commitment and legal questions that mating brings. You aren’t her responsible alpha! If you want to double check, Planned Packhood has quick blood tests that can let you know right away if you’ve mated or not.

  


Dear Planned Packhood,

I was hanging out with my best (supposed) beta buddy a few weeks ago, when all of a sudden, he started smelling super good and getting hard and looking at me. I knotted him, and it was kind of amazing, and we had a great time. But I’ve always thought I was into girls, and I still think girls are super hot, but I really enjoyed everything I did with my buddy, especially because I didn’t get bored when we were tied. We just talked about football and stuff. I know it’s mostly betas who care about gay and straight and stuff, but I always thought I was straight, and now I just don’t know. – Alpha in Crisis!

Dear Alpha in Crisis!

First things first, I hope you took your buddy straight to Planned Packhood in the morning to get a morning-after pill! Most first time heat sex is enough of a surprise that people forget protection, but alphas should make an effort to always carry and remember their condoms just in case of emergency! Having a sexuality crisis is bad enough. Having a sexuality crisis along with becoming a baby-daddy in high school is not something you want to be going through!

It seems that the confusing part is that you’re best friends. Friendship and sexual attraction can be all you need to form a positive relationship, but fear and prejudice can easily spoil it. Best not leap before you look! Talk to your friend about his feelings. Consider dating a bit on the down low. See if you’re interested in a relationship when he isn’t in heat, and then make your decision. You don’t have to know everything yet! Give yourself time to think and experience life, in all its crazy, beautiful colors.

  


Dear Planned Packhood,

When I went into heat for the first time, I found myself thinking about my best friend, and not about any alphas. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I like girls, and that I’m an omega. I’m considering asking out my friend, who’s made it clear that she likes me, but I don’t know how to talk to her about being an omega. She’s a beta, and female alphas, even if they do exist are so rare, that I really doubt that I’ll ever meet one that I want to be in a relationship. I’m probably going to seek out relationships with beta girls, but how do I make that work with my heats every month? Should I try to get knotted just so it won’t be so crazy? – Lesbian Omega

Dear Lesbian Omega,

It’s great to see you so up front about your sexual desire and your relationship choices. It can be really difficult to feel like your mind and your body don’t fit. You know you want girls, but your body wants alphas. So how _do_ you deal with that? Number one, getting knotted by some guy just to reduce your heats, isn’t the answer. Sure, it makes things a little easier to handle, but so does mating, and you wouldn’t want to force yourself into a mating bond just so you don’t rev up so much once a month. Knotting, though not so permanent, is still a bond, and you should choose your bondmates for better reasons than simple convenience. And the truth is, you’re not alone. Female alphas are a rare breed indeed, but lesbian omegas are not uncommon. Omegas who pursue relationships with female betas as well as other omegas can have happy committed family lives and satisfying sexual encounters. The most essential aspect is communication. Talk to your friend about what you want when you’re in heat and be honest. Also stop by Planned Packhood for our pamphlet “Omega Sexuality: Untying the Knot on Love and Lust.” It contains techniques and resources regarding sex and relationships, and, at the very least, brings up a lot of the questions that your friend might have but you might be unsure of the answers to. Good luck and good gardening!

  


Dear Planned Packhood,

I’m one of those rare things, a female alpha, but I’ve been pretty sure I was straight my whole life. Although I was attracted to omegas, I wrote that off as simple biology. But today, a girl I didn’t know was an omega went into heat and kissed me in the janitor’s closet. It didn’t go farther than that, and she went off to shag her beta boyfriend, but I’m kind of a mess. It’s never felt like this before. Being near omegas, kissing nice beta boys, and suddenly everything I thought I knew about myself is up for questioning. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do…

TV*JW TV*JW TV*JW

"Hi Tori!"

Tori kept her face buried in her hands. She liked the janitor's closet. It smelled pleasant, and it was quiet, and she could hide her shame. She was considering staying there forever. But now Cat was in it.

"So, Jade's in heat."

Tori jerked her head up and glared. "I got that!"

"Why are you in here?"

Tori sighed and mumbled into her hands. "I don't think I can walk."

Cat looked shocked and a little impressed. " _Oh_ ," she said.

"Not that!" Tori didn't exactly know what she was thinking, but whatever it was, it was a NO.

"You missed Sikowitz's class."

Tori sighed. "I just want to go home."

TV*JW

Her mother pulled up in the car as Tori headed out the back door. Was there any way she was going to get away with not explaining this? The nurse had taken one look at her and hadn't asked any questions, just taken her temperature and called her mom.

Tori slunk out to the car and climbed into the passenger seat. Her mom took a look at her and rolled down the window before pulling out of the school parking lot.

"Your friend went into heat," she said. It wasn't a question.

Tori nodded miserably, and then stiffened. "Wait. What? You _knew?_ You knew Jade was an omega?"

Her mother patted her arm. "It was pretty obvious."

Tori stared, utterly betrayed. "How was it obvious? How was it- She doesn't act like an omega."

"How do omegas act, Tori?"

There was a subtle hardness to the comment and Tori swallowed, remembering who she was talking to. "They act like... people. But most of the ones in high school either hide or cling to alphas. Jade didn't do any of that!"

Her mother shook her head. "And how did she smell?"

Tori slumped into the car seat. "Awesome."

"You'll get better at identifying people when you get older and the hormones settle down."

"But other omegas don't smell like _that_."

"To _you_. Not all omegas smell the same, you know. And some scents you like more than others, just like with anything."

Oh fabulous, Tori's special omega scent blend just happened to be _Jade_. Being an alpha was the worst.

Holly parked the car, and Tori straggled behind her and in the door. What had she _done?_ All of their odd interactions, falling all over her, sniffing the back of her neck... Oh god.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me!" She pressed her hands to her face. "I've been making such a fool of myself! I've been acting like a total idiot alpha!"

"Tori..." Her mother shook her head.

"It's like I was _courting_ her! I WAS courting her, wasn't I? Oh god." Tori threw herself face first onto the couch and pressed her nose into a pillow. "I just wanted to be friends. I didn't know she was an omega."

"Would you have wanted to be friends with her if you had known?"

"No!" Tori pushed herself up and frowned. "Yes? Maybe? I don't know. I mean, she could find out about me, right? I'm supposed to stay away from omegas."

"Baby, I'm pretty sure you never hid anything from Jade."

 _No._ She really hadn't. "Not with all the sidling up close I did. Oh, god, no wonder she wanted me to stay away. And I didn't _listen."_

Her mother made a very 'I _told_ you' face. " _That_ was probably a stupid alpha thing to do."

"But I just..." Tori curled up into a little ball and cupped her head in her hands.

"You liked her."

"I did." Tori's lower lip extended. "But did I really? I mean, was it just the hormones? Did I ever really like her at all? Like her for myself, or just like her as an alpha?"

Because oh _god_ , she had liked her as an alpha. Omegas in their first heats were sexy, but they hadn’t made her knees buckle. Jade had kissed her and the alpha in her had growled so loud that she couldn’t even think of what to do. Well, she couldn’t think of anything but shoving Jade against the wall, burying her face between her breasts and her hand between her thighs. Tori’s face felt like it was glowing with heat at the memory.

But it was _Jade_ , Jade who was the most blunt and straightforward girl she had ever met. Who always said what she thought. Who had done everything she could to make her life hell, and then still cast her those secret amused incredulous smiles, like they had a connection, like they were having a secret friendship affair that no one was allowed to know about.

And the one thing that Tori had wanted – wanted with a desperation that was verging on Trina-style obsessiveness – was to open her arms and pull Jade in, and squeeze. It hadn’t seemed erotic. But in consideration of recent events, it might have been a bit more inappropriate than she had first assumed.

Her mother sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in. "It's hard to tell sometimes. If you like someone, your hormones can respond to that. If your hormones respond, you might think you like them. The only way to know is to stick it out and see if it changes. Try to be friends anyway. And now that you know, you'll respect her personal space."

Tori slowly reached up and ran her index finger over her lower lip. "Yeah,”

she said softly.

"And if you can still be friends, then it doesn't matter if the hormones started it."

Tori swallowed.

"I don't even know if that would be a good thing or not."

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Jade and Beck weren't at school on Thursday. They weren't at school on Friday either. Tori very pointedly did not comment. She was fine. She was in control. She was not going to be a stupid jealous alpha.

Then Robbie said, "I wonder where Jade and Beck are?"

Rex scoffed. "What? You _know_ they in the shaggin' wagon."

Tori punched through Robbie's locker. Robbie's jaw dropped.

"Tori? _What_?"

"You need to get rid of those _nipples_ , okay?" She turned and stormed off, cursing herself for her lack of control.

"Some baby wishes she was in that shaggin' wagon," Rex remarked.

Cat grabbed him and stuffed him head first into Robbie's bag. "Hey! Hey! I can't breathe in here!"

"Sorry, Robbie," Cat said.

"No, it's okay."

Cat waved and left the boy and his broken locker to run after Tori. "Hi Tori,"

Tori pressed her forehead against her own locker. "You don't want to talk to me."

"Yes I do!"

"You shouldn't." Tori flexed her hand, which was beginning to swell.

Cat looked at it. Then she looked at Tori. "Come on," she said, catching Tori's wrist and tugging her toward the nurse. The nurse took one look at the hand and at Tori's face and then over at Cat, as if hesitating.

"Just say what you want to say," Tori said. "She can handle it."

The nurse nodded. "There are hormone suppressants that you could be on."

Tori sagged. "The meditation and yoga was supposed to be enough."

"I love yoga!" exclaimed Cat.

"I just... I don't want to drug myself out yet. I had a... shock. I'll get over it."

The nurse raised an eyebrow, prodding the yellowing bruises on her other set of knuckles. "In the meantime, you could invest in some boxing gloves?"

"Yeah! Drugs suck!" added Cat. "Jade's been going through like a prescription a week these days, and it's so not helping."

"She has?" Tori asked, suddenly worried. A prescription of what? Heat suppressants?

"Yep! She says it's your fault."

Tori nodded vaguely. "It probably is." Everyone knew that omegas made alphas crazy, but what was it like for an omega to be around an alpha all the time? After being knotted, heats were supposed to get calmer, but if Jade had always had Beck, then she probably hadn't been knotted before... and still smelled like it was her first heat. If being around alphas was anything like being around omegas, it would make the symptoms pretty bad. Being around stupid female alphas who liked to sidle up close and fall all over you in the hallway was likely even worse.

Cat gasped in shock. "You're making her do drugs!"

Tori just groaned and tried to find a blanket to put over her head.

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Jade lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling of the RV, Beck snoring beside her, and wondered. It was easy to lose track of time during her heats, but she could feel the ebb of her need, so it had to be late. How long had it lasted, two days? Three? She felt bruised and sore and unsatisfied, like always after a heat, as if her body was complaining, not understanding why she had bothered with a cock that didn't have a knot, or why she had bothered with a cock at all.

Grimacing, she lifted her hips and ran her fingers lightly over too sensitive flesh. It felt like a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but her internal muscles still clenched, wanting it, wanting more. Beck was out for a couple of hours though, she could tell by the breathing, and last time he hadn't even tried to get it up, just stayed lying on his back with his eyes shut and stuck two fingers into her, with a casual carelessness, as if he might be getting paid, but he hated his job.

It had never felt so much like 'just sex.' And it wasn't even sex it was 'just penetration,' just ‘doing my _fucking_ job.’

Even the vibrator was too much right now, and Jade clenched her hands into fists and shut her eyes. This was when she could get herself off by squeezing her thighs together and thinking. _Thinking about Tori's mouth, her stunned-rabbit look, the press of her hands against her waist_. There, a slight peak. Her body relaxed into the calm moderate arousal of her last day.

She'd kissed Tori.

Fuck.

There was a reason people didn't let omegas out of the house, wasn't there? Heat made them _insane_. They thought of nothing but sex, sex, sex, and the frontal lobe was not involved in any way. She'd kissed Tori. What was she thinking? What had she _wanted_?

A growl vibrating against her throat, her shirt ripped, hands palming her breasts, a kiss, teeth tearing at her lower lip.

Fuck.

Jade rolled on her stomach, hand - still in a fist - nestled in the vee of her crotch, wrist pressing against her lower belly. She leaned into it, and bit back a groan.

What had she wanted? To be taken in the janitor's closet? To be backed against the wall, wrists bound so she couldn't touch herself, so she couldn't resist when Tori bit her way up her inner thigh?

That was what she'd teach her - to not touch her, not let her touch. Heats lasted three days, there was no goddamn hurry to get off. And the longer it took, the slower the build, the higher the peak, the more respite her body gave her after.

And if Tori could pick that one up, she might not end up feeling like someone had gone after her with a meat tenderizer.

Would it be enough? Would she feel satisfied after? Sated? If female alphas were just like female betas on the outside, could they knot? How would they do it? Jade had never saw the allure of knotting, intellectually. Fucking and coming were fine. Being opened, penetrated, stretched, her body liked that. But being tied? Having someone stick something in you that swelled up like a wound and then not being able to get it out? That was shit. She was always sweaty and sticky and foul smelling after sex, she would hate not being able to roll away right after and get in the shower.

Not that what Tori did in bed had anything to do with _her_. She had made things clear when Jade had kissed her, pushed her body into her grasp, and Tori had done nothing. If Jade could be an omega who hated alphas, Tori could be an alpha who only wanted men. That was sexuality for you, you got slapped with whatever you got, and it wasn't like you could make an executive decision to fix it. Just like your kind. Alpha, beta, omega, you were stuck.

Even if it hadn't been perfectly clear, screwing Tori wasn't going to change anything. Jade would end up knotted and tied - from behind, if she had any choice in the matter, so she didn't have to look the alpha in his idiot face - and she would be forced to stay still, sweaty and gross, as her daddy's pick of an alpha shot off into her for twenty minutes. She would be dripping with it for hours. And he would do it again, and again, until the heats stopped, because she was having his fucking pups, and the little boy would be an alpha and the little girl would be an omega, and the cycle would start all over again. That was her life.

Unexpectedly, Jade felt her eyes start to burn and her throat tighten. Goddammit, she was going to cry. She _hated_ crying.

Beck's arms flailed out and found her. "Hey," he murmured, still mostly asleep. "What's wrong? Why're you crying?"

"I'm _not_ ," she spit out, and pushed him away. She crawled out of bed and headed for the shower where no one but her could tell the difference between water and tears.

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Tori spent the weekend on the couch, curled into a ball, nursing her fractured hand.

Her dad tried to comfort her but she waved him away. "No, no. I am going to be humiliated here for another," she checked her watch, "six hours. No comforting."

"It isn't that humiliating," her father offered. "Alphas have good noses, but we do occasionally get distracted by how _interesting_ the scent is."

Tori put a pillow on her head. "You're not helping!"

"You know they say that omegas are only up for it during their heats, but I've found that with the correct preparation, they're quite willing-"

Tori shrieked and threw the pillow at him.

"David!" Holly called down from upstairs. "Don't give our daughter unsolicited sex advice!"

Her dad grinned, and Tori ducked her head, pushing her hair behind her ear. He was just trying to make her feel better. Her dad leaned close and whispered to her, making indicative glances in the upstairs direction, "very careful, well-planned preparation. They have hair-triggers, those omegas. Avoid pissing them off."

He sauntered off upstairs, and Tori leaned back into the couch and stared at the ceiling. She had to pull herself together before school on Monday. She had embarrassed herself enough in front of Jade already. She was going to try and stop that now. She was not going to be a stupid, pushy, (courting) alpha. She was not going to drive Jade into ODing on hormone suppressants, or to more... embarrassing PDAs in the janitor's closet.

She still wanted to be friends. She wanted it so much she felt sick inside.

They could be friends... at a distance... in well-ventilated areas.

Tori groaned and rolled over onto her pillow. This was going to suck.

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When Jade walked into school on Monday, she spotted Tori at her locker, just like she had on the Wednesday before. And Tori froze, just like she had then. She turned slightly, just enough to see Jade and force a weak smile, and then ran like a bunny-rabbit from a fox.

For some completely incomprehensible reason, Jade felt a little disappointed.

Tori continued to avoid her for the rest of the day, very carefully staying on the opposite side of any classroom, ducking her head to avoid attention when Sikowitz wanted volunteers to get up on stage and interact.

It was depressing. Jade didn't even have the opportunity to get in a good insult or death glare. It was like one big failure.

What made it worse was when she got home. Her dad was actually sitting in the kitchen, across the counter from a young man with handsome features and slicked back dark hair.

"Oh, Jadelyn," he said. "This is Gavin Marks. Gavin, my daughter."

The young man in his sharp suit turned to look at her and smiled. "You're still in high-school, are you?"

Jade nodded, not sure what to do. He had to be an alpha. He had the easy confidence and proprietary grin that they tended to.

"Man, that was a good time. It's always great to be ruling the roost," Gavin commented. It seemed like he was addressing her, but speaking to her father. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes," Jade said sharply.

Her father snorted. "A beta."

Gavin shook his head. "I'm sure he's very nice. You're a pretty girl, Jadelyn. You should have the world at your feet."

And was he the one offering to get it for her? Jade kept her face stony, but her eyes down. She didn't need her dad blowing up at this too.

"Say thank you, Jade," her dad said, "and then get out of here and change. Honestly, what they let you wear to school these days. It's revolting."

Jade spun and strode away.

"I don't know," said Gavin. "She seems very stylish. And she has a good figure. I bet she could carry off the classics if we could just teach her to smile."

"Oh, she can if she wants. She's not a bad little actress. She's quite good at playing a role."

Slamming the door to her room, Jade found her favorite scissors and started savaging her father's old briefcase.

This was her life.

Goddammit. Who would be surprised if she did end up going on a serial killing rampage?

No one.

  



	7. Chapter 7

Omegas are God's most precious children. But over 50% of teen runaways are omegas. Runaway omegas make up a disproportionate percentage of rape and murder victims. What can we do to protect our precious gems from the dangers of violence, drugs, abuse and prostitution?

In the modern era omegas are under all sorts of new pressures. Allowed to go to school, they see the lives of their beta and alpha counterparts, and naturally wonder why they aren't given the same freedoms of opportunity and choice. Some omegas rebel, refusing the guidance of their alphas, refusing their duty to their family, but others understand that they are the prizes of the world, and deserve honor and care. But how do we show the rebellious omegas the same wonderful truth?

What omegas need, more than anything, is unconditional love. At the omega prayer group of the Church of the Heavenly Pack, we share with our beloved omegas the gift of God's love. God's love is unconditional and undeniable. With its acceptance, omegas will soon learn to rejoice in the role god has chosen for them, to obey their alphas, and serve them well, so that their packs will be reunited in the Kingdom of God.

* * *

"Jade."

Jade stopped, one hand still on the orange juice in the fridge. Her father was standing behind her. "What did you think of Gavin Marks?"

Jade stared at the orange juice, unmoving. "What do you want me to think of him?"

"He's young and handsome, isn't he?"

Jade nodded, still not turning around. It was true.

"He's the youngest CEO Holdings Corp has ever had, only twenty six. He's intelligent, aggressive, going places."

 _And you want to own him, just like you own me. But you actually have to_ pay _for him._

Her father moved up behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to be happy, Jadelyn. I want you to be taken care of."

A stabbing pain cut through her chest. Jade's shoulders sagged. "I know, father."

"He’s interested. He’s made me an offer."

"Already?" her voice was weak.

"Marks knows that a long term partnership with West Group is in his interests, and he finds you... charming, surprisingly."

Jade considered stepping to the left and puking in the sink.

"We've ironed out the business agreement. It’s quite… mutually beneficial. But he's requested a date with you on Sunday, to discuss the details of what he will require of you."

A date. None of the others had ever gone this far before. Gavin was serious, and so was her father, this time, not just showing her off like a prize pig. God. She had thought she’d get _out_ of it somehow. She’d thought at least she’d have until she finished high school to show her father that she was worth more than a bride-price, that she was worth something as a _person_.

She had run out of time. Her plans had gone up in smoke, and she could do nothing.

 _Why_? Why was she so weak here? She could be as tough as nails, her skin like tanned hide, her tongue sharper than her teeth, when it didn’t matter. But when it mattered, when it was her _life_ , she was helpless.

Her father’s hand tightened on her shoulder. "I'm sure you will continue to be _charming_." His thumb brushed over a small scar on her chin, the one she had gotten when he had shoved her into a countertop, face first, followed by a blow to the kidneys, after she had made a snide remark to one of his partners.

Jade took a slow breath. Getting passed from one alpha to another like so much small change was not what she wanted from her life, but getting away from her father had to be an improvement. She couldn’t have what she wanted, but she would take what she could get.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

"I know you’ll make a good impression."

* * *

Tori slumped over her lunch, watching Jade and Beck at a different table, and feeling generally miserable. Jade hadn't glanced over once, but Beck kept casting her worried looks and then turning the same worried look to Jade and asking her something that she would snap back at, baring her teeth.

Tori felt vaguely jealous. _She used to bare her teeth at me_.

Cat was standing with her tray, looking from table to table with a confused and distressed pout on her face. Tori made a flicking gesture at her, encouraging her to sit with Jade. It wasn't as if Tori was going to be much fun. But Jade glanced up, spotted Cat, and then stood abruptly, casting what was left of her lunch into the trash and storming off.

Beck unfolded out of his seat and came over to Tori's table, collecting Cat along the way. Robbie and Andre piled in after them.

Tori tried to smile, but she wasn’t feeling it today. She hadn’t been feeling it for the past week. Cat was trying to plan an event for the weekend, filing the air with, excited chatter, and Tori couldn’t bear it. It was like they didn’t even care that she was miserable.

“Hey, are you feeling okay?” asked Beck, looking concerned.

Oh god. The caring made it _worse_. Especially from _Beck_. She couldn’t stop picturing him naked, pounding away, Jade’s head thrown back, her ankles locked around his waist. It made her sick and aroused all at once.

Tori pushed herself up from the table. She forced a smile and a wave. “I’ve got a test this afternoon. I’m going to go study,” she said and ran back into the school.

The hallways were empty. Tori thumped her head against her locker. It had been a week – one week of her new super plan to Not Be a Stupid Alpha. And so far it hadn’t worked at all. Jade had come into school on Monday, completely heat free, smelling like nothing but herself, with none of those OMEGA! overtones that grabbed Tori’s nose and dragged her around by her sinuses, and she was _beautiful_. Tori’s gut had clenched tight, nearly making her double over, and she had fled.

It was the humiliation, she rationalized. Jade had made an idiot out of her (as had her own _parents),_ and it was only normal that she wouldn’t want to face her mocking comments and ironic eyerolls. But she _did_ want to face her. She wanted it a little too much.

“Hormones!” she scolded them. “Calm down! She’s not even in _heat_!”

But Tori’s stupid alpha cared not.

She wasn’t about to let the stupid alpha take control. So Tori had stayed away. She kept the rule about personal space – not just the three foot radius that Jade had specified – but far enough away that Jade’s scent was the barest whiff. She tried not to look at her. She avoided eye-contact. Eventually her alpha was going to give up on this and get bored.

She hadn’t counted on being _miserable_.

Tori ducked into the janitor's closet and sat on the floor.

It was supposed to be better like this. She was staying away, and Jade didn’t seem to care. She didn’t look at her, she didn’t glare or sneer or smile. Tori had walked out of her universe and made herself invisible. And that was fine! She hadn’t ever really had Jade as a friend to begin with, so it shouldn't be so painful to have lost her friendship.

But it was.

The door creaked open and Tori's head snapped up to see Robbie, sans puppet, sidle into the closet. Tori frowned, eyes narrowing. "What do you want?"

Robbie flinched at the unexpectedly harsh greeting. "I wanted to talk." He shifted awkwardly and threaded his fingers through his curly hair.

Tori grimaced, feeling guilty for snapping at him. "What about?"

"Um," Robbie looked like he might be trying to get up the nerve to confess to her Japanese-style. God. She didn’t have the mental energy to deal with this.

"If you're trying to ask me out, I'm going to say no. Sorry." She warned him off. If he managed to get the words out, she would probably bite him. He was already infiltrating _their_ closet with his smelly boy beta-blandness.

Robbie looked startled. "No, it's not that. I just wanted to say that...” He frowned. “It's not cool."

"What's not cool?"

"It's not cool how you're treating Jade."

Tori sat up straight, eyes wide. "What?" How _she_ was treating _Jade_?

Robbie took a breath and twitched as if she was scaring the shit out of him - which... she might actually be doing. She tried to look a little less crazy and a little more anxious.

"Jade is... kind of mean. And abrasive. And angry. And violent. And short-tempered-"

"Get to the point, Robbie!"

Robbie looked at her. "Jade is... all those things. But they didn't seem to bother you before. You were kind of all over her, trying to be friends, even when she blew you off."

Tori ducked her head. ‘All over her,’ wonderful. Subtlety? Trina apparently had more of it than her. "I know."

"But when you found out she's an omega..."

Tori stared at him. He knew. He had to. She _had_ wrecked his locker.

"…you stopped."

"I... stopped?"

"You stopped trying to be friends. You started treating her like... like toxic waste, or worse, like _nothing_. And Jade, well, she isn't exactly my friend. I don't think she exactly has friends. But she's a person. And you shouldn't treat people badly just because their kind makes you uncomfortable. Omegas are people too."

Tori stared at him. She felt frozen, limbs numb, heart an unbeating lead lump in her chest. "You think I'm treating her badly because she's an omega?"

"Aren't you? I think we would have known if it was something else. She came into school in heat and then left with Beck, and you started to flip out. And then when she came back it was like she was a pariah. You won't even sit with us if we're sitting with her. And you watch her with this kind of disgusted expression on your face."

"I do not!" Tori yelped, and then covered her face. "Oh god. I do.” It wasn’t disgust at _Jade_. It was at herself for being so _stupid._ “Is it really coming across like that? I'm so..."

"I can't really read Jade very well, because she's, you know, Jade. But Beck's been looking worried all week. I think she's upset."

Tori's fingers clenched in her hair. This was all going wrong. "I _wasn't_ trying to hurt her."

Robbie patted her shoulder hesitantly. "I know it must have been kind of a shock. Jade is like the _least_ omega omega I've ever come across. But just because she's different _sexually_ , it's not a reason to treat her differently."

"I _know_." Tori whimpered. "I just... I freaked out. And, I did something stupid that I thought she'd be pissed about. So I just stayed out of her way."

"It's also making Cat pretty sad. I think she'd like it if you two made an effort to sit at the same table at least."

"I will!" Tori gripped his hands hard. "I'll fix it. I promise."

Robbie stared at her and then lurched forward. Tori dodged the attempted kiss quickly and dropped him as she stood. She forced a grin and waved at him. "Thanks for the heads up!" she said and darted out of the closet before he recovered.

Jeez. It was like the only person who hadn't kissed her or tried to kiss her in this school was Andre. She should really hang out with him more.

* * *

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Four days left before the _date_. Jade kicked the locker under hers with her steel-tipped boot. It dented.

"Jade?" Beck caught her attention. “Can we talk?”

“No!”

“Jade!” Beck grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the janitor’s closet. Jade resisted, but he pulled her through and closed the door. Then he did nothing.

Jade glanced over at the wall where she had shoved Tori, grimaced, and then looked up at him. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking anxious and kind of stressed.

"What is it?" she snapped.

"What's up with you, Jade?"

" _Nothing_." There was plenty, but none of it was his business.

"Nothing to do with Tori?"

Jade stiffened. If he hadn’t brought her _here_ she wouldn’t have thought about Tori in days. She wasn’t in heat and Tori hadn’t fallen all over her recently. Tori didn’t _matter_ now. Jade had other issues. "Why should it have anything to do with Tori? She's staying out of my way now, like she ought to be!"

Beck made one of his annoying sympathetic faces. "And you're sad."

"Not about _her_."

" _Jade_."

This was getting absurd. "Why do you think it's her! Just because she waltzes in here and everyone thinks she's a goddess, does that mean I have to? Do I have to give one flying fuck about her?” She shoved him. “Dammit Beck!"

"Hey!” Beck fended her off with waving hands. “You're the one who was like - no, not Tori, Tori's special, hands off!"

"I have bigger problems than Tori goddamn Vega!"

"But you won't tell me what they are!"

She looked up at him, at his sad awkward little face. He hadn’t sounded sad. He sounded exasperated. He _looked_ exasperated too, forehead wrinkled, jaw stuck out in stubbornness. Jade’s lip curled. "You want to break up, don't you? That's what you were planning to tell me in here."

Beck stepped back, shocked, but he didn’t deny it. "I... look, I just thought we should-"

“God, it doesn’t even matter.” Jade dug her fingernails into her palms. “Our deal was coming to an end anyway.”

“What?”

Jade rolled her eyes. “This was always temporary. There was always a sell-by date on it. I might as well let you end it now. I’d just have to end it myself in a few weeks anyway, when I’m… taken out of school.”

Beck's face went white. "You mean, your dad..."

"He's found someone."

"Jade." Beck went to hug her and she beat him off.

"Get off me!” She snarled at him. “You dump me and then want to comfort me. Just leave me alone."

"We’re friends, Jade... Aren’t we?"

God, _friends_! Everyone wanted to be friends! Friends were _useless_. All they did was pretend to care, but when it got hard for them they bailed! " _NO_." Jade growled. "I don't need you. I don’t need anything. Just go. We're done, okay? We're done."

"I'm sorry, Jade," Beck said, and he slipped out of the janitor's closet.

Jade sank down against the wall, put her face in her hands, and didn't cry.

* * *

"Jade!" Tori spotted the blackout figure storming through the parking lot, and ran to catch her. She wasn't responding to shouts, so she reached out and snagged her shoulder.

"God, Vega! Get off me!" Jade whirled, furiously, baring her teeth.

Tori jerked back, huffing and puffing to try to catch her breath, and shook her head, trying to get her to wait. "Just, hold on for a moment."

"I don't want to talk to you!"

"I wanted to apologize."

Jade did stop then. She wrinkled her nose.

Tori gulped. She shouldn’t find that expression so adorable. _Bad alpha._

"What have you done _now,_ Vega?"

 _Huh_? Tori paused, cocking her head. Hadn’t she noticed? She opened her mouth. Jade's eyes narrowed. Tori forgot what she was going to say.

"Um," said Tori.

Jade rolled her eyes. "God, _alpha_ , get off your knot and use the vocal chords god gave you."

Tori shook her head to clear it. "I, uh, I'm sorry for avoiding you this week. I've been treating you badly, and I didn't mean to, and I'm sorry."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, Vega? It's been a relief. If you want to stay away forever, that's _fine_ with me. Not having to smell your-"

"I don't smell!" Tori snapped. She had done a lot of thinking after finding out that Jade was an omega, and this was a prime conclusion she had come to. "I wash a lot. I don't try to cultivate musk. And you're an _omega_ , I shouldn't smell bad to _you_."

Jade put one hand on her hip and gave her a look of utter disdain. "I _hate_ alphas. You smell like an alpha, therefore I hate the way you smell, okay? That's how it works."

Tori frowned. It sounded logical, in that way that didn’t actually make any sense. "But you..." She had _kissed_ her, in the janitor's closet.

"I was in _heat_." Jade's eyes cut like knives. "Don't _worry_ about it, Vega. I'm not likely to molest you again. You made yourself very clear. You just want to be 'friends,' or at least you did, before you figured out what I was."

"I still want to be friends," Tori said, looking down. She really did. The past week had been miserable, keeping at a distance – so much of a distance that _Robbie_ of all people had noticed. "Is that an option?"

Jade recoiled. "It was _never_ an option, Vega. You're nothing to me. Get the hell out of my life."

She whirled and marched to her car.

Tori leaned back against a SUV and sighed. That had gone... poorly. At least she hadn't been stabbed with a pair of scissors. It could have been worse.

* * *

Jade stabbed her fork into her lunch and growled at it. The scent hit her first. Her throat closed.

“Hey,” Tori stood with her tray across the table, smiling with that irritatingly hopeful awkwardness.

Jade rolled her eyes. Fuck it. She had _told_ Tori that they weren’t going to be friends, but clearly the idiot alpha had selective deafness. “You may sit,” she said. “We’re _not_ friends.”

Tori clearly only registered the first half of the comment because she smiled like she was more thrilled by Jade’s permission than she would be for a record deal.

However, her stupid smile was nothing in comparison to Cat’s shriek of pleasure when she saw them sitting together, even if on exactly opposite sides of the table. She threw herself onto the bench and started jabbering excitedly.

“Party! I’m having a party on Saturday! No!” She furrowed her brow. “A movie night! That way you can come, Jade! You’ll come, Jade, say you’ll come!”

Jade glanced across the table, inadvertently meeting Tori’s gaze. Tori offered one of her idiot grins. What was this? Goddamit, this was Tori trying to be friends again, and apparently that meant making eyes at her across the lunch table. Jade glared back. It might be a public service to inform Tori that the ‘I want to be friends’ menu of actions didn’t include ‘eye-fucking.’

“There had better be alcohol at this movie night, Cat,” Jade snapped. She would need it, to not think about Sunday. “And I pick the movies.”

“Yay!”

* * *

It was kind of incredible, and terrifying, how much better Tori felt after Jade started looking at her again. She had hugged Robbie in thanks, who looked like he might pass out, and then smothered Rex in a sack before he could comment. And what was possibly even better, Beck had decided to go hang out with his other friends – a group of cool betas and second tier alphas, and she didn’t have to watch him snuggling up to Jade.

The fact that she was super stoked about this gave her a bit of pause, but at the most basic level it made her alpha not want to punch anyone in the face, which was always a good thing.

 _Her alpha_. Tori’s dad had frowned when he heard her using that term. “It’s hard to separate yourself from yourself,” he said, “just like it’s hard to separate your feelings from your feelings.” And maybe he was right. Tori knew that what she _was_ was an alpha, which meant inappropriate feelings about omegas, and the occasional urge to punch Beck Oliver in the face. But she wasn’t _just_ an alpha. And she very much wanted to punch Beck in the face anyway, for trying to make out with her while he was dating Jade. How could she separate the wanting to punch Beck from the wanting to punch Beck? How could she separate the way she felt about anything as an alpha from the way she felt as a whole? She knew what she _should_ feel – what the idealized Tori, in her head, the one who was really a beta, and only liked _boys_ , would feel. But trying to be who you thought you should be made figuring out who you were a bit more difficult.

"All right! All right!" Sikowitz held out the coconut shell. "A scene! We must do a scene! And who will play the parts? I need a big, tough, alpha male." He waved around a leather jacket. "Tori!" Tori jerked up in startlement and the jacket hit her in the head. She pulled it off her face, then held it up, frowning. Was Sikowitz casting against type, or not?

"A ditzy beauty-obsessed young beta."

"Oh me! Me!" squeaked Cat.

"Robbie!" Robbie got hit in the face by a blonde wig.

"And her tough-guy beta boyfriend... Beck!"

"Awesome," said Beck, making a face.

"And the good little omega who would never _dare_ to annoy her father." Jade scowled and grabbed the pink skirt from his hand.

So, against type then.

"Ohhh," Cat sighed, left out of this one.

"Robbie and Beck! Over there! Be sweet! Be adoring!"

Beck eyed Robbie, who batted his eyelashes under the blonde wig.

"Tori and Jade, front and center!"

Tori shrugged into the leather jacket. Jade stomped onto the stage, looking particularly pissed off, and not in a half-amused sort of way. She looked the sort of angry where all sensible people would turn and run. Had Sikowitz’s comment set her off?

“Now!” Sikowitz said. “You’re in love, but you can’t just come out and say it. You:” he pointed at Jade, “You’re unsure because your beloved alpha has been completely chivalrous and hasn’t made an attempt to knot you, so you think he doesn’t want you. You:” he pointed to Tori. “You’re unsure, because you don’t want to just charge in using your alpha magnetism and sweep her off her feet. You want her to like you for you. And for a script… this electronics manual!” He passed out copies.

Tori felt herself start to flush. That wasn’t true at all. Jade wasn’t upset that Tori wasn’t trying… but that ugly comment from the Janitor’s closet surfaced in her memory. _I put it right in your hand and you can't even take it_. And she wasn’t worried that being an alpha would make Jade fall all over herself. If anything it was the reverse!

Oh, wait. These were the roles. _Shit_.

Jade’s lip had curled up into a slight sneer as she flipped open the electronics manual. If this was the insecure omega, it was a hugely pissed off one. Jade lifted her chin and batted her eyelashes in a megalomaniacal sort of way. "Oh no,” she said flatly. “The digital soundboard 60-Vegas allows the recording and mixing of 1 – 8 different channels of audio.”

Tori laughed at the absurdity of the line and looked down at her own ‘script.’ How were they supposed to express their roles with this sort of dialogue? And what did resisting her alpha magnetism look like? "Or, uh, one full length channel of audio in manual strength, babe." She took a step toward Jade and put her hand out as if to casually cup Jade’s hip, and then hesitated. _Three-foot radius! Three-foot radius!_

Jade shot her a look, then reached out and grabbed Tori’s hand, shoving it onto her hip, turning into Tori’s body. “Relay selection mode?” Jade offered.

Tori blushed.

Sikowitz waved his hands. "Nonononono! This is all wrong! Jade? Why is the sweet omega pushing her alpha around? Tori? Why is the tough alpha turning red? Switch roles!"

 _Wait? What_?

Jade stepped out of Tori’s arm, then put her own across Tori’s shoulders, drawing her to her. She was enveloped in her scent.

Jade cocked her head and offered an easy grin. “I’ve got 1-8 channels in random or sequence mode in a single switch, baby. Relay _or_ input signal.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Tori laughed, and then suppressed it into a giggle. She shook her head, then reached out and ran her thumb over Jade’s collar. “I thought the board was intended for use in displays,” she said. It didn’t sound _quite_ omega enough.

Tori froze. She broke character. “Sikowitz.”

“Mmm?” Sikowitz sucked on his straw and raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t- I don’t like this scene.”

“Why not, Tori?”

Tori shut her eyes and then made a face. She wasn’t totally sure why. She didn’t like the way it _felt_ , to try and force the ‘omega’-style character. Jade was an omega, and she might very well feel insecure about something, but she couldn’t play the part like _Jade_. _Jade_ couldn’t play the part like Jade. “I thought our choices before were fine. I think interpreting the alpha as a little shy and the omega as knowing what she wants is good.”

“Oh really?” Sikowitz made a gesture for her to continue.

Tori remembered the bird scene. Sikowitz didn’t care about the choices she made as long as she was confident in them. She had to be confident. “People aren’t roles. People are people. I think it’s old fashioned to always have to play alphas in one way and omegas in another way.”

“Interesting,” Sikowitz said. “Andre! Play an omega."

Andre shrugged and got on the stage. He stood quietly with his fingers laced together, feet together, eyes demurely lowered.

"Good job, good job, Andre." Sikowitz turned to the class. "That, my students, is what we call a _stereotype_. Have any of you met an omega that actually acts like that all the time."

Tori cast a hesitant glance at Jade, who was standing stiff and unmoving, face pale, teeth clenched. Tori had only seen her mother once, but it seemed like Andre was pulling off her character perfectly.

“And that, if I’m not mistaken, is what Tori is protesting against. Indeed, I agree, playing only a stereotype is _boring_. But what, my dear students, is an omega _like_?”

“No!” Tori yelled. “That’s what I mean! You can’t ask what an omega is like! There’s no such thing as a _generic_ omega!” Tori choked. She was yelling at a teacher. She shouldn’t yell at a teacher!

But Sikowitz merely raised his eyebrows. “Do you really believe that your kind has no effect on who you are? That you can be anything?”

“Yes!” Tori snapped.

“And your kind does not affect the way you act, the choices you make?”

“It doesn’t. Not necessarily!” It didn’t for her mom. It didn’t for Jade.

Sikowitz’s mouth drew into a contemplative frown. “Even when you actively choose to _not_ act like your kind? Influence is a subtle thing.”

Tori choked. This wasn’t about Jade. Jade was just standing there – like a robot in standby. This was about _her_. Was choosing to not act like an alpha just another way being an alpha shaped her? How could she know what she ought to be resisting if resisting itself was acting like an alpha? “I… I know,” she managed. “But it’s not just the stereotypes. It’s the choices. We aren’t doing anyone any favors by saying that all alphas are tough guys and omegas are scared little girls. It’s like saying all alphas have to be businessmen and all omegas have to stay at home. People need to see that there can be other options. We don’t always have to make the easy choice.”

Tori looked over and saw Jade go white. Her hands clenched into fists, her breath quickened. And then she jumped off the stage and fled the room.

 _Oh god._ What had Tori done _now_?

* * *

Jade sat on a chair near the door of the black box, glaring at nothing. There was nothing to glare at. All the props and scenery had been taken away, leaving nothing but black walls and a few rows of chairs. It resembled her life.

The bell had rung a few minutes ago, but she wasn’t getting up to go to another class. She couldn’t bear it. It all seemed so pointless.

There was a small cough. Tori was hesitating in the doorway. She knocked tentatively on the doorframe. "Hey," she said. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Jade shot her a venomous glare.

"Sorry," Tori said and moved to back out.

"What the hell was that shit you were spouting!" Jade yelled, before she could go. She didn’t want _Tori_ there, but it was worse to be alone.

Tori froze. "You mean, about portraying omegas?"

"I _hate_ it when people talk about omegas like they know shit."

Tori stepped carefully inside. "I know,” she said, taking a seat one down from where Jade said. “I hate it too, about female alphas."

Jade snorted. "Most people think female alphas don't exist."

"Except for Danneel Harris."

" _Most people_ are pretty sure they're both betas and are just doing it for a publicity stunt."

Tori laughed, then ducked her head.

Jade felt sick. Tori, trying so desperately to be her friend, had served as a distraction for the past few days. But then she had _said_ it, the one thing that Jade didn’t want to hear. _It isn’t the easy decision. There’s nothing easy about this at all._

"I didn't mean to offend you. It's just, my mom talked to me about being an omega when I was younger. About representations, and how that affects how people treat you. She just wanted to work, but everyone thought she was loose because she didn’t stay at home. And she had to date alphas, just to have someone looking out for her, because people would do awful things to omegas on their own.”

“They still do,” Jade said. She sighed. _Tori’s mother._ God, she was jealous. What she would give for a life like _that_ , making her own choices, making her own money. Even the fact that she ended up with an alpha didn’t make it revolting. An alpha without expectations? One who treated her like a _person?_

It felt so weak to want it.

“I won’t,” Tori said.

Jade looked at her, startled, trying to remember what they had been talking about. “You, Vega? I think I could take you.”

“I wouldn’t try. I don’t want to treat you like you’re different… like it _matters._ ”

Jade sighed. Her life was so different from Tori’s it felt like science fiction. “I’m not your mother.”

“What? No! I know that!”

Tori’s face was hilarious. Jade raised an eyebrow. Did she think Jade was accusing her of an Oedipus complex? That was just… _Tori._ “Not everyone has the same set of choices,” she clarified. “You can’t blame people for taking the easy one sometimes.”

Tori frowned. “But… if you can fight, if you can make a difference, why not choose that?”

“Because of the risk!” Jade snapped at her. “If you play the docile omega you don’t get jumped in the street. If you whore yourself out to the biggest baddest alpha, you have someone watching your back. _Life_ is a role. And there are only so many available for omegas. Being the bitch has worked for high school, but I’m _not_ going to be able to keep it up.”

"I know it can be dangerous, but things are better now. I mean, it's not like you get sold to the highest bidder."

_That’s exactly what it’s like._

"I hate you!" Jade hissed.

Tori jerked back. "Why this time?"

"You don't even get it. You don't get how _lucky_ you are!”

Tori gaped. "Why am I _lucky_?"

"You were born lucky." Jade rolled her eyes. "Your _family_ is insanely normal for the shit-show that is the usual alpha-omega stuff. The only thing you have that I wouldn't steal in a heartbeat is Trina. And if you didn't have her, I would hate you even more than I do already, so hang onto that hair shirt, okay?"

Tori chewed on her lip. "I... I'm a female alpha."

"So _what_?” Jade threw up her hands. “What is the big deal with that? You punch people sometimes and you want in my pants - so does _everyone_. You can _lie_. You just say, 'What? I'm a beta.’ Get better at _acting_. That's what you want, isn't it? Maybe you wish you could find a closeted male omega and pretend to be a happy beta couple, and maybe you'll just get a nice beta boyfriend and adopt ten babies.”

God. What a disgusting thought. But it burned more than it should. Tori wasn’t _anything_. She was too pretty, and annoyingly goofy, and disgustingly nice, and she was an _alpha_. Jade _hated_ alphas. But faced with Gavin, any refuge looked attractive. It was weak. She hated herself for even entertaining the idea. But she hated Tori more, for not offering (offering _what_? No business connections, no capital, just a middle-class family connection and a reasonably good singing voice? It was laughable.), hated her for only wanting to be her friend.

“Don’t you dare tell me about making the ‘easy choice.’ You're planning on lying for the rest of your life, because it's _easy_. You're not going to make a play for me and get beaten up by every alpha who thinks you don't deserve me. You're not going to fight to be accepted as real, as human. No one’s ever going to treat you like property. You've got it good. And as long as you keep your paws off me when I'm being _tempting_ , you're fine. You got into a fight, you punched through someone's locker, and no one cares, because no one thinks your kind even exists. You can just lie. I don't have that luxury. So feel lucky, because you _are_."

Jade couldn't take wanting to smack her stupid face and kiss her at the same time anymore, so she stood and walked out.


	8. Chapter 8

Alpha Rages and Alpha Rights - a handbook for alphas

As an alpha, your particular hormonal balance makes you particularly susceptible to going into rages. Since rages are embarrassing and can have legal consequences, it is important to be informed about what you can do to control your rages and what rights you have after an assault.

60% of alphas go into a blackout rage at some point in their lives, where they are unable to control their actions or remember what they did while enraged. But nearly 90% of blackout rages are instigated by circumstantial hormonal imbalances - most frequently when the alpha has been exposed to an omega in heat.

Normal, low-stress situations do not inspire rages, but immediately after mating, or when a related omega - either a mate or a member of the pack (child, sibling, etc) - is endangered, a controllable hormonal level can spike, leading to a blackout. Alphas are very possessive with their packmates, and even if there is no actual danger, contact with a foreign alpha may inspire a violent response.

If blackout rages occur in other situations or occur frequently, see a doctor. It may be a result of a hormonal imbalance.

Although in certain circumstances, legal repercussions of rages may be suspended, remember that you are responsible for your own behavior, and even if you are not convicted of a crime, you may regret the results of your actions.

When are alphas likely to be pardoned for committing assault?

1) Immediately after mating.

A just-mated alpha is on a razor's edge of hormones. If planning a mating, make certain that no other alphas will come into the vicinity. Even their presence may spark an attack, and an attack on friends or relatives during the mating process will always cast a pall over the happy event.

2) A foreign alpha having sexual or violent physical contact with a related omega.

An alpha defending an omega from physical violence is always pardonable.

For sexual contact, it is only pardonable if either a. the omega is the alpha's mate, b. the omega is a minor, c. the omega is clearly not consenting to the contact.

Evidence of sexual contact - scent, sound, or visual evidence - is also a mitigating circumstance. A rage inspired by this, but one that includes premeditation and/or pursuit, is more questionable, though many alphas have been pardoned for hunting down the particular alpha that left scent evidence on the omega.

Any other assault an alpha commits is necessarily a crime, and will be treated like conventional assault.

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"Dad?"

Tori's father looked up from frowning over the taxes. "Yes, dear?"

Tori shifted, not sure how to phrase this. "I've been thinking."

"Always a worthwhile exercise."

Tori punched him in the arm. She shook her head. "I've been thinking about being an alpha."

He put down his pen then, giving her his full attention. He swiveled around and patted his leg as if offering a place to sit on his lap. Tori raised an eyebrow. How old did he think she was? She pulled up a chair right next to him instead and curled against him.

"I was never really happy with being an alpha."

Her father sighed. "I can't help but think that was my fault. Your mother marshaled me into giving you the 'talk,' but I didn't know what to say. I never really had someone talk me through it. Locker room gossip, where everyone was obsessed with 'measuring' and which omegas had gone into heat, was all the help I had in figuring it out. And I didn't know what it would _mean_ to you. I still don't, really."

Tori nodded. "Mainly, it was embarrassing. But it didn't help that you figured it out because I was..." _cuddling up to mom when she was going into heat._

Her father laughed.

"Or that you kept laughing at me!"

He gave her a squeeze around her shoulders. "I don't know why you worry about it so much. Being an alpha isn't all of who you are. It isn't all of who _I_ am, it isn't even most of it."

"But _you're_ different."

"Growing up poor doesn't make me different. People think alpha is synonymous with privilege, but it's really not. You have to work just as hard as anyone, though not as hard as most omegas do."

Tori nodded. "Jade said I was lucky, to have a family that was normal."

Just then, Trina started to sing, loudly, from her room.

Her father winced. "I wouldn't call us _normal_." He petted Tori's head. "Being an alpha doesn't make your life magically different - for the better or the worse. It has an effect, but you make of it what you make of it. You choose what you choose."

"What if I choose to stop hiding?"

Her father turned to look at her face. "From everyone? Or from yourself?"

Tori wrinkled her nose. "You think I'm hiding from myself?"

"Uh..."

Tori laughed at his amusing face. "I was. But I'm going to stop. I don't think I'll ever be able to figure out which parts of me are alpha and which ones would be there anyway, so it's all me. It's all Tori. Tori's the one who can smell omegas and wants to punch idiot alphas. No one else."

"That's a relief to hear."

"But I meant from everyone." Tori glanced down. "It's easy to lie. It's easy to pretend. But it's wrong."

"You can't just dismiss a choice that could protect your life and safety as _wrong."_

 _"I know that_." Tori shook her head. "I'm not rushing into this. I'm just... thinking about it. Small steps. LIke... telling my friends."

Her father nodded. "You could do that."

"Can you teach me to fight?"

Her father's eyes widened. "What?"

"If I'm going to do this, I need to be prepared."

"No, Tori. If you ever get into a situation where someone's attacking you, you run, you get out as fast as you can. You know that. We've done self-defence. You don't need to know how to hurt someone else."

"But what if I need to protect someone? What if I run into trouble that I can't just run away from?" Tori frowned. "If you don't teach me, I'll ask Trina."

Her father let out a breath. "The most important thing to learn is try to end it as fast as you can. The longer things go, the worse they get. Stay smart, stay out of range, and try to incapacitate your opponent quickly."

Tori nodded fiercely.

"I can show you a few techniques, but use the strongest muscle you have, Tori." He tapped her on the head. "That one."

"I don’t _want_ to fight. But," she flexed her hands, "I tend to punch things, and it hurts. I think maybe I'm doing it wrong."

Her father frowned, then stood up and pulled her to the center of the floor. "Make a fist," he said. "Yes! I thought I taught you this already! You're doing that all wrong, here, put your thumb here, now keep your wrist straight."

When Tori's mother came home she found the couch cushions on the carpet and her husband and daughter doing rolls and talking about low centers of gravity and taking out an attacker at the knee.

" _Alphas_."

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The tequila tasted like piss, but the more Jade drank the less she could feel. Her brain buzzed numbly and it was a relief to be able to think about the next day without wanting to recoil in horror.

Cat had gone to the bathroom and she had taken the opportunity to stagger to the table and empty half the bottle without being watched by her disapproving gaze. If she got drunk enough she might even be able to handle the My Little Pony movie that Cat was desperate to watch (the old one, with the Smooze).

"Jade, Jade. I think you've had enough of that."

Jade spun, bared her teeth and snapped at Tori, clasping the tequila bottle into her chest. "You don't get to tell me what to do, _alpha_. You don't have any power over me!"

Tori stepped back raising her hands in surrender, but frowning curiously at her. Jade liked it when Tori frowned. She was prettier when she looked upset. She wanted to see her cry. She wouldn't look like such a dork then.

"I don't have any power over you, but I'm your friend. As a friend, I'm saying you're going to be less than happy tomorrow if you keep going like that."

Jade smiled and shook her head. She sauntered toward Tori and twisted a lock of her hair around her finger. She smelled delicious this close up, the alpha musk softened by strawberries and vanilla, and soap. It was nice when an alpha actually bothered to use soap. "Tomorrow's shit anyway. Throwing up all morning will be a nice distraction."

"Jade," Tori's hand landed on her arm, cupping it gently, and Jade didn't mind much. She wasn't in heat or even verging on it. She could handle Tori's touchy tendencies and pretty hair. "What's happening tomorrow? You've been... kind of sad lately. I thought it was my fault, but..."

Jade laughed. "Nothing to do with you, this time. You just make it worse."

"What?"

Jade tugged Tori onto the couch and settled in next to her, laying her head on her shoulder and breathing her in. "Your mom's really cool."

"Um, you know, my mom should really not come up in all our conversations. It's kind of creepy."

Jade lifted her head and laughed in her face. "What? Annoyed that she's hotter than you?"

"What? No! Wait... she is?"

Jade tapped her nose, and Tori's breath hitched in her throat. "Face it, To-o-ri. _Trina_ is hotter than you. I mean, she'd only be attractive to a person if she were dead, but as a corpse, she smokes you." She completed it with a gesture that shaped a set of curves in the chest area – ones that Tori really lacked. Not that she wasn’t _curious_ , to see how she looked with her shirt off.

"Jade! Don't - _say_ stuff like that! It's gross!"

Jade leaned back against Tori's arm. Stuff like that? Stuff about death? It shouldn’t be so tempting. "I'd make a pretty corpse too," she said softly. "I mix my own poisons, you know. I could do it. Would you cry? I'd like that - to see you crying over me." Jade's eyes started to burn, and that wasn't the point. She shoved the tequila away from her, dropping it on the rug. "Shit," she said, rubbing her eyes, and knowing the eyeliner was going to smear everywhere. "Shit," she said again.

"Jade..."

"No!" Jade yelled at her. "No. This is you. This is _your_ fault. My life has been shit forever, and then you show up with your stupid family and your stupid bambi faces, like you're not a threat, like you're different, like you'd make me not hate myself for choosing slavery, but you can't fix things. I can't _choose_ you!"

Tori's eyes went wide. She swallowed. "Would you?" The words were tiny, hardly there, half a whisper half a murmur. Her face was tentative, as if she didn’t know whether she wanted the answer to be yes or no.

Jade's eyes narrowed. "You just want to be _friends_ , Vega. Stop dangling your ass in my face like a piece of meat."

"I- um, just, I mean... friends first." Tori was as red as she could get, and Jade grinned, leaning in close until their noses touched.

"Am I giving you a sexuality crisis, Vega? Or is it just my boobs?" She rose up on her knees until Tori's face was right at chest level and started to lean forward. Tori shrieked slightly, and squirmed to escape, very unconvincingly.

Jade laughed and fell off of the couch, rescuing her bottle of tequila from the floor. She climbed back up again, undoing the top and taking a drink, then pushing it toward Tori's mouth. "Here, your turn. It helps with the crisis."

Tori chewed on her lower lip and shook her head. "I'm okay I think."

"Excellent." Jade flopped over, leaning on her shoulder. "It's cool though. You'll get over me. And I'll be over you soon. And then we can be friends." She sighed. "I'll need friends. I'll need you."

"So we're friends now?" The hope in Tori’s eyes was sickening.

"I've lowered my standards to accept you. Feel grateful."

She could feel more than see Tori smile. "I do."

"Now be a good alpha and kiss my feet in appreciation." Jade kicked off her boot, swiveled around, and brought up her socked foot to Tori's face level. Tori's eyes widened in shock. Jade started to laugh at the hilarious look on her face. But then Tori took hold of her foot, gently, and Jade's laugh caught in her throat. Tori ducked her eyes and then bent her head to press a light kiss to the top of Jade's foot.

All of the desire that had gone oh so pleasantly missing since her heat had ended suddenly rushed right back into her. Jade's stomach turned over. Her thighs clenched together involuntarily, her nipples suddenly hard and sensitive against her bra.

"Oh, I should..." Tori slid off the couch and knelt on the floor, keeping hold of her foot, and brought it to her mouth one more time. "Better?"

Jade just stared at her. " _What?_ " she managed.

Tori cocked her head to the side. "Well." She shrugged with a shy and yet confident smile on her face. "Sikowitz said it. If you're going to play a dog, _be a dog_."

Jade scrambled up off the couch. "I'm going to go- over there, and pass out. If you follow me, I'm not responsible for what I do, okay?"

Jesus Christ. She wasn't anywhere near her heat and she was considering going through Cat's drawers to find her vibrator. (If she had one... that her brother hadn't done something unspeakable with.)

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Tori slid back into the movie room from the bathroom and found Jade passed out in Cat's lap. She settled in next to them. Cat cast her a curious glance. "What were you two doing while I was gone?"

Tori shrugged, feeling shy about it. "Nothing really, just talking. We're friends now."

"Yay!"

Tori leaned back against the couch, staring at the TV without seeing it. She looked over at Jade, her eye-makeup a mess, drooling into Cat's leg, and reached out, stroking her hair.

Cat gave her a soft, interested look. Tori flushed. "I- I'm just worried about her. She seems... off."

"You love her."

"Cat!" Tori squeaked. That was way too far too fast! She was just getting used to the words: 'kind of like' and maybe: 'amazing boobs.'

"It's okay. I love her too. And she needs it."

Tori swallowed. Okay, that kind of love, maybe she could handle that. It wasn't quite the twist in her stomach when Jade flashed her kitten-in-the-cream smile. It was just caring about someone who needed it. She wished Jade would explain why she needed it. Caring was just an exercise in misery if you couldn't actually help. And the way Jade had looked today, when she had started to tear up, it seemed like something that she might not be able to help, and the thought made Tori feel even sicker than she already did.

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Jade stumbled home in the morning, puking in the bushes on the way. Her mother looked up when she came in and quickly moved to pour a glass of water. She came near her and breathed in.

"Oh," she said, following it with a slight hiss of breath.

Jade rinsed her mouth and spat, then took a sip, pressing a hand to her temple. "Asprin?"

"You need to change and shower, Jade, your father-"

"Your father will what?" Jade's dad strode into the room and grimaced at his hungover progeny. Then he sniffed. His face went still and cold. "Were there _alphas_ at that party I let you go to?" He put a hand in Jade's chest, shoving her into the counter. She gasped, the wind knocked out of her.

" _Dad_."

He drew his hand back, made a fist and paused, frowning. He opened his hand and then swung, cracking his palm across her cheek, _so it wouldn't leave a mark._

Her head snapped to the side. She hissed in air. Her hand came up to cup her cheek.

"What do you think you're doing, _Jade_? You've known the rules for years. You don't get close to alphas. You don't let them get their grubby paws on you. And _today?_ _Today_ is the day you come home with alpha all over you! Are you _trying_ to ruin everything for me?"

"No sir," Jade whimpered. Her head was pounding and she needed to puke and her face stung viciously. Her eyes burned.

Jade's father leaned close and took a long sniff. "He didn't knot you."

"No sir."

"And how does _your_ alpha compare to Gavin?"

Jade couldn't help the weak laugh that came out. _Her_ alpha? Tori? Tori compared to _Gavin_? "In height, money and education? Not at all." In about a hundred other ways… _much more feminine, better voice, would never, ever, think of buying me._

"Would I approve of him?"

" _Definitely_ not."

"If I _ever_ smell him on you again, you will regret it. And if I ever catch him with you, I'll kill him. If he knots you, I will hunt him down and kill him. Do you understand this?"

Jade swallowed and gave a slight nod.

Her father stroked her hair and ran his hand down her cheek. "You're my responsibility, Jade. I will do whatever it takes to take care of you."

"Yes sir," she whispered.

"Now be a good girl and jump in the shower. I expect you to be your bright and charming self for Gavin."

He turned and strode out. Jade slumped, bringing her hand up to cup her burning cheek. The one he had caressed felt even worse. Her mother set two asprin on the counter beside her.

Jade turned on her. "How can you just stand there? How can you let him do this to me?" This was _her mother_ , and yet she seemed to care even less about her than _Tori's_ mother did.

"You know I can't..."

"Why don't you _leave_ him?"

"How could I leave him?" her mother said softly. "He's my mate."

And her mother had had as little choice in the matter as Jade did. Jade grabbed the asprin off the counter and fled.


	9. Chapter 9

Mating: Celebrating your Happy Event

Mating is a wonderful and happy occasion. Now that you’ve decided to mate and applied for the mating serum, it’s time to plan your celebration.

Question 1: Will you wait for a heat or do you plan to mate between heats?

Although enjoying your celebration for a full three day heat cycle is a wonderful thing, artificially induced mating can be blocked by an excess of naturally occurring hormones. It is generally more reliable to induce a mating heat in the base period of one’s natural cycle.

An artificially induced mating heat usually lasts only twenty-four hours, allowing you to plan your post mating celebration without too much delay. But to be safe, it is best to stay in seclusion for at least 48 hours. After the heat fades, the elevated protective feelings of the alpha may linger and cause problems.

Question 2: Will I love my partner more after we mate?

The answer to this is _yes!_ For a little while.

Mating releases many chemicals in the brain that inspire love, trust and physical attraction. The increased sensitivity to your mate’s scent and sexual responsiveness will remain, but the myth of instant true love after mating is a myth. Usually, the chemical response plus physical and emotional togetherness is enough to build a bond that will last for a long time. But without reinforcement, this love, like any, can fade.

The Anatomy of a Mating Heat

Step 1: Injection: the omega injects the mating chemicals into her system. Usually it takes 4-5 hours for the omega to go into full heat and become receptive to mating.

Step 2: Seclusion: The alpha and omega meet in a private area. If they need food or water, a beta or other omega should provide it. Though most alphas retain a good deal of self-control, it is best for other alphas to stay away and not provoke a violent reaction.

Step 3: Mating: Although mating does not necessarily require sexual coitus, skin to skin contact with the alpha’s scent gland is required. It must be maintained for long enough for it to activate and secrete fluid. Since most alphas have preputial scent glands (located in the foreskin of the penis), unprotected sexual contact is usually the most convenient method.

Step 4: Knotting: Knotting, though an optional part of the mating process, takes on new meaning and joy when performed within seclusion. It is an opportunity for the mated pair to linger together, communing emotionally, and describing to each other the new and wonderful feelings being mated has given them.

Mating is a time of peace and joy when both partners are filled with love, and their feelings, already intense, become deeper and more fulfilling.

Step 5: Celebration: Though historically mating has been a private affair, followed only by the formation of a new household and pups, today many alpha-omega pairs choose to follow the beta tradition of marriage. A public ceremony, affirming your commitment to each other in front of family and friends, offers an opportunity to make a process that some refer to as simply a ‘biological phenomenon’ into a sacred and community focused celebration. But even if the marriage ceremony is not desirable, a party in which the newly mated pair meet their friends and family as bonded and joined, can be a wonderful culmination to the happy event.

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Jadelyn West (16) and Gavin Marks (26) will be mated in on the fifth of November at the West home. Following their seclusion a party will be held at the penthouse apartment in the Marks Holdings Building, where Mr. Marks will introduce his new mate to society. Mr. Marks is the youngest CEO of Holdings Corp, and is a graduate of Princeton University and the Harvard School of Business. Miss West is the daughter of notable capitalist Hadrian West, founder and head of West Enterprises.

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There was a knock on the door. David Vega answered it.

"Tori! It's for you!" There was a slight pause. "It's a _boy_." He sounded not entirely approving.

"I'm in the yard!"

"Hey Tori."

Tori glanced up, surprised. "Beck!" She had expected Andre, or maybe Robbie, but not _Beck_.

He gave her a sweet smile. "So, how was the thing at Cat's?"

Tori swallowed. "Uh, good." Jade had gotten drunk and passed out on Cat's lap. She had kissed Jade's foot. She was really trying not to think about it.

"So, um, I really like you Tori."

"Thanks Beck! I like you too." She made to punch him in the arm. He looked puzzled.

"Great. I was wondering if you might want to go out some time."

Tori froze. "I- What? What about _Jade?_ "

"We broke up."

"You broke _up? Just now_?" Was that why she was a liquor-soaked mess?

"A couple of days ago. It wasn't working out."

"Is she _okay_?"

Beck frowned. "Tori, she's fine. We just ended it. She has some family shit going down, and well, I was... looking at other people."

Other people. Like _her_.

God, two months ago Tori would have jumped at the chance. Beck was an incredibly attractive beta. He was sweet, and a good kisser. She stared at him, at his pretty face and casual shrug. She wasn't even tempted.

"While you were with _Jade?"_

"What?" Beck's forehead furrowed. "Tori. This isn't _about_ Jade. And why does it matter to you? You aren't even friends with her."

"Yes," Tori said fiercely. "I _am_."

"You haven't gone near her for the past week."

"We made up! On Wednesday. I was just... a little messed up when she went into heat."

Beck wrinkled his nose. "You and me both. It was like three days early, and she kept digging her nails into my back." He rubbed his side. "I hate that."

Tori swallowed. It sounded... kind of sexy to her. "I could smell it," she said softly. "It seemed... strong."

Beck turned to her, lips drawing into a frown. "You could _smell_ it? Betas aren't supposed to be able to smell heat."

 _Oh, shit._ "I never said I was a beta."

Beck stared at her, his face a rictus of disbelief. Then he collapsed into one of the lawn chairs. "You're not a _beta_?" He smacked his forehead. "Damn. Why can't I find an awesome beta girl who I might actually have a chance with?"

 _What?_ So that was the end of his offer? But he had... "Did you break up with Jade because she's an _omega_?"

"I have the _worst_ taste in women."

"That's _not_ fair, Beck. You can't just dismiss huge groups of people because they're different kinds. Biology isn't destiny!"

"Tori!" Beck yelped, sounding exasperated. "Biology is _life_!"

"What?"

"I like Jade. She's crazy, but in an awesome way, most of the time. But as a couple, we just don't _fit_."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't line up. Biology is where we live, and you omega girls-"

Tori swallowed a protest.

"-you live it every month. I know it's not just 'get knotted and it's all okay,' because Jade has drilled that into my head, but I'm a regular beta guy. I like regular sex on a regular basis. You omega girls - you're as kinky as fuck and have endurance like _whoa,_ for three days a month. I can't get it up after a couple hours."

Tori made a face.

Beck stared at her. "Oh come on. If you're an omega, you can't be a virgin."

"I _am_ a virgin."

Beck's eyebrows shot up. "How do you deal with the heats?"

"I don't go into heat."

"But you're an omega. You said you weren’t a beta."

Tori forced a smile. She had missed her chance to lie to his face. But this was her plan, right? Tell her friends. And Beck was... sort of a friend. "I'm an alpha, actually."

" _What?"_ Beck shot up from his chair. "But you're a _girl_!"

"We're 5% of the population!" Tori yelled back. "I exist!"

Beck chewed the air for a moment. Then he winced. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry. I've just never..."

"Met a girl alpha before?"

"Yeah." Beck's eyebrows drew down as he stared at her. "It's _you_ isn't it?"

Tori pinched her lips together. "It's me what?"

" _You_ fucked up my relationship with Jade. Our arrangement was fine until you showed up. She started acting all weird, clingy and demanding, and she was such a super bitch to you. And then that heat, it was early, and way intense, and she kept looking at me like I was dirt, even while she was riding me. But what was different was _you_. You were always hanging around us."

"Wait! I didn't..."

"I thought you liked _me_!" He choked out a laugh. "You wanted to knot my girlfriend."

Tori's mouth opened in horrified shock. "I'm not knotting anyone!"

Beck's eyes slid down her, lingering a lot lower than was appropriate, and Tori jerked the patio table in front of herself. His gaze shifted to her hands.

"Well, fist her then."

Tori's jaw dropped.

"What do girl alphas _do_ in bed?"

Tori pointed at herself with both thumbs. "VIRGIN!"

Beck rolled his eyes. Then he sighed, chewing on his lip. "Are you _into_ Jade?"

Tori made a face. How was she supposed to answer _that?_ "I - look, just because I'm an alpha, it doesn't mean..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Beck said. "Sorry for getting weird. Just... if you _are_ into her, Jade has a lot of family stuff going on right now. It's not a good time for her. I don't think it will ever be a good time for her, honestly. You don't really have a chance, you know, even if you wanted one." He sighed. "And I don't have a chance with you. See you around, Tori."

Tori curled up in her lawn chair, feeling slightly sick. So if that was what it was like to out herself as an alpha to a _friend_ , yuck.

At least Jade already knew. Cat and Andre couldn’t be as bad as Beck. And how _nice_ of Beck to let her know that she didn't have a chance with Jade. She wasn't even totally sure if she _did_ want one. _Oh god, who was she kidding, Jade had gotten up on her lap and pushed her breasts into her face, and she was going to say no to_ that _?_

But apparently she had never had a chance.

Fuck.

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The classy hotel had a tearoom on the mezzanine. Jade, in kitten heels, an updo, and a blinding headache, strode in and mounted the stairs.

The sight of Gavin, leaning back in the coffee-shop chair, made her want to vomit. His dark hair was slicked back, sleeves of his coat rucked up over his elbows. Fine, he was handsome, he was a complete and non-defective alpha, he was everything her father wanted. He was everything she was supposed to want. But Tori had kissed her foot, had got on her knees, voluntarily. _Fuck_.

It didn't matter. That wasn't something she could have. Gavin was the one who sat in her future. It wasn't worth fighting it. If her dad threw her out, Tori wasn't going to pick up the pieces, and she would hate her if she did.

"Jade!" Gavin grinned. "You prefer that, right? To Jadelyn?"

Jade nodded and stiffly took the seat across from him.

"You look lovely today."

"You don't have to compliment me," Jade said flatly back. "You're buying me. And it's not like I don't know that I'm attractive already."

Gavin laughed. "I knew I liked you." He leaned over. "Look, Jade. I'm not one of those old fashioned alphas. I know you're a person. I know you have things that you want from your life, and that they might not be me. I'm not trying to make you miserable. This is a deal between me and your dad, but it's also a deal between you and me. Your dad can't guarantee that you'll be the mate I need. Only you can do that. So if you really would rather anything else but me, tell me right now, and we'll call this off."

Jade sank. Part of her had wanted him to be a raging asshole, something, anything that would make it worth it to face her father’s anger. But he was trying to be nice. "I... You're a better option than some of the other proposals," she said. He was young, not physically revolting, and he was willing to give her some control over her life. It was a good deal. It was probably the best deal she was ever going to get.

Gavin laughed again. "I can imagine."

But she had power. Not much, but maybe enough to make a different. _God, she didn’t want this._ "So what are the bargaining points?" Jade stuck her chin out.

"Well, for one, I'm totally in favor of you finishing high school. There’s old fashioned and then there’s _archaic._ I'll even pay for college, if it's local, and you study something reasonable."

Jade nodded slowly. "What's reasonable?"

Gavin shrugged. "You're into drama, right? I'm not comfortable with my mate being a professional actress, but school productions are fine."

"I want to write scripts."

Gavin wrinkled his nose. "That's a little... Romance scripts?"

"Horror movies, mainly," Jade said flatly, fingering the scissors concealed in her pocket.

"You want a career in that?"

Jade tensed. "I thought I could submit scripts. I wouldn't... network." It was the kiss of death for most screenwriters, but it was better than nothing.

"If you use a penname, fine."

Jade swallowed and nodded quickly. That was good. That was almost good enough.

"You're on birth control, right?"

Jade flinched. "Yes."

"You can stay on it until you finish high school."

"How many kids do you _want_?" Jade bit out. She turned eighteen and then she was going to be breeding until she died? Hell no!

"I'm not unreasonable. I just want an alpha son. As many as it takes until I get an alpha son."

Jade choked. That could be one or a hundred. "No," she said. "I need a cap. I can't just..."

Gavin blinked. "A cap? Five. If you haven't given me an alpha son by the time we have five children, I won't make you have any more."

Jade thought she was going to be sick. "And the sex?"

"You'll be my mate. It won't be onerous." He grinned. "I expect you to make yourself available to me and only me during your heats."

Jade nodded.

"And, of course, in between."

Jade shook her head. "I don't like sex, and I don't have a sex drive between my heats. My doctor says I have an abnormally low base state for hormones." That _had_ been true. Lately the wild spikes of desire had been more frequent, though… not unpredictably so.

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "Really? To be honest, I work hard and I travel a lot. I'm not making any promises, but I doubt I'd be after it all that frequently. How about we give you vetoes."

Jade narrowed her eyes. "How many?"

"Three. You can have three _headaches_ a month, and I'll deal. But no more than three."

"How long do vetoes last?"

Gavin gave her a mildly impressed look. "Twenty-four hours. Is that reasonable?"

Jade nodded shortly. "But what if you stop traveling and want it every fucking night? I'm not going to like it."

"You can bargain. If you don't want to get fucked, we can make other arrangements."

Jade glared. "I don't do oral."

Gavin smiled. "I won't force you. But if you want to offer it in trade, that's up to you."

Jade covered her face with her hand and took a slow breath. She never wanted to be within three feet of a knot, and here she was, bargaining her life away.

"Otherwise, basically I need you to manage my house and host my business colleagues with parties. You need to look and act appropriately."

Jade nodded. "And I can... see my friends?"

Gavin shrugged. "Appropriate friends." He frowned. "I might have affairs," he said. "On my trips. I will always be safe with that."

Jade stared at him. "Can I have affairs?"

Gavin guffawed. "What? You'll be mated to me. You won't _want_ to have affairs."

Jade shifted, brows lowered, registering her displeasure. "Could I anyway?"

"No," Gavin said. "Not with alphas."

"Not with _alphas_?"

"Oh, you have that beta boyfriend, don't you?" He looked disgusted. "No, no affairs."

"We broke up. It was just an arrangement," Jade said. "It was supposed to end when I got mated."

Gavin nodded. "Did you have anyone in mind?"

Jade laughed. "No. I just wanted to see if I could. I don't have a sex drive, remember. You won't have to worry about that." Oh she could lie, lie, lie. But that was what you got for dating an actress.

Gavin grinned. "Well, let's say I'll consider it on a case by case basis. If you happen to hanker after beta girls, we could totally work out an arrangement."

"What about alpha girls?" Jade asked without thinking.

Gavin blinked. "Alpha girls?"

"They exist," Jade said sharply.

"Well," Gavin made a face. "If you find one, introduce me. That might be... interesting."

Jade's hands clenched so tightly on the tablecloth that it ripped.

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On Monday, Jade looked different, somehow. She stomped through the crowds, hair flowing out behind her. Tori leaned against her locker and let herself look. Her eyes lingered on the curve of her face, and, mmm, various lower ones, enjoying the way she snapped at anyone who got in her way. Maybe she didn't have a chance, but alphas were all about risk, and Tori was embracing being an alpha these days.

"Jade!" Tori caught up to her, just as the bell rang.

"Oh god, _you_."

Tori grinned and moved closer. Jade flinched. Tori reached out and caught her hand. It was warm, in fingerless gloves, and Tori took a quick breath, trying not to react. "Hey,” she said. “Are you okay?"

Jade bared her teeth. "I'd so much rather you _not_ care!"

Tori shrugged, keeping the hand pressed between hers, "You're not going to stop me."

Jade sighed. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're insufferable."

"And yet you want to be friends."

"I was _drunk_!"

"That's okay.” Tori grinned. Her annoyance was nothing but attractive. “I'll get you to admit it sober."

"You're like a dog with a bone aren't you?" Jade grimaced. "And I'm the bone."

"Kinda."

"Stop looking at me like an idiot alpha."

Tori just grinned wider. "But I _am_ an idiot alpha."

Jade stiffened in surprise. "We're in the _hallway_!"

"No one's listening," Tori said. The halls were mostly empty by now. She couldn’t help but smile. Jade cared - in her own special way. It was nice. "And... maybe I don't want to take the easy way out."

"What?" Jade’s tone went suddenly sharp and ugly. Tori had expected this, she’d expected resistance. She just had to forge on through.

"I don't _have_ to lie. And I don't want to."

Jade's lip curled. "You're serious? You're going to out yourself?"

That was the plan. Tori had so many plans, but way too many counted on Jade. "Not, like, all at once. But I don't want to spend my life hiding."

“You’re serious?” Jade stared. "There's no _point_ to it!” Jade jerked her hand out of Tori’s grip. “Why would you throw away a chance to be _normal_?"

Tori looked at her and swallowed a knot in her throat. "There is a point to it. I just... I like you." Jade's face went suddenly, desperately still. "My alpha... she _really_ likes you, but my brain likes you too." Tori reached out and let her fingers brush down her cheek. "And even if it was just hanging out a little more, or if you would give me a chance-"

"I can't."

Tori straightened in surprise. She had expected a look of utter disgust, or a smart remark, or just a "NO" and a storm out, but she hadn't expected that look of devastation.

"Jade."

"NO! I _can't_! I can't give you a chance. I don't have any chances left to give! And you can't _do_ this, out yourself. You can't fight for me! You can't be _brave_! You're just screwing up my _life_!"

"What's _wrong_ with your life, Jade? You have to tell me! I want to _help_!"

"You can't help! You can only make it worse! Your stink hanging on me - "

"Jade." Tori pulled at her hand, and Jade ripped it away from her.

"Don't TOUCH me! You can't save me! Just give it up and _submit_! You're good at that."

"I'm not going to give it up! I care about you. I'm not going to submit or shut up when it's _you_."

Jade's lip curled. "Want to bet?"

" _Jade_."

Jade jerked her in, kissing her, briefly, roughly. It was half teeth, so hard that Tori tasted blood. Tori opened to it, submitting without even trying.

Then Jade shoved her away. She spun, and stormed off, leaving Tori sprawled against the lockers, stunned and desperately turned on.

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_Oh, god, oh god, oh god._

Jade hurried to the bathroom and scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get Tori's alpha stink off of her. Why was this happening now? Why was Tori suddenly deciding to get over her issues and ask her out right exactly when she needed her to stay as far away as possible? It was her fault, Jade knew, for getting drunk and falling all over her, enough to get her father's wind up, and she had been So Good at staying away from alphas until now!

She had to keep her away. Tori had to stay away until Jade was safely mated, and her father couldn't just kill her friends if he felt like it. Tori had to get AWAY from her. And worse, she wanted to know what was happening. What if she went poking around Jade's house to figure it out? What if Jade's dad caught her?

Jade paused, straightening, staring at herself in the mirror. Who was she? Some cowering fucking omega? No.

She smiled.

Sinjin, watching on his CCTV of the girl's bathroom, shook in terror at that smile.

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Tori had been expecting rejection. But Jade had completely freaked out at her, kind of like... kind of like she wanted to say yes, but couldn't. And Jade had kissed her, again, and _god_ Tori wanted that. She wanted more of it. And if Jade had a problem that needed to be fixed, she had to find out what it was.

But Jade seemed to have disappeared. Cat, Robbie and Andre had collected around her table, Beck, thankfully, was staying far away, but Jade wasn’t there. It was fifteen minutes in to the half-hour lunch, and she still hadn't reappeared.

"Hello everyone!" And then there she was, on the roof of the school, with a bullhorn.

"Hey Jade!" came a chorus of shouts, mostly from the alpha tables.

Jade grinned and waved down at them. Tori just stared. What was she _doing_?

"Now I have just a _super special_ announcement for y'all," she continued, in her southern fake-Tori voice.

"Oo, ooo! Let us know, baby!"

"You still need a knot? Because this one comes for free!"

"Sorry boys," Jade said. "It's not an auction. None of you can afford the entry fee for _my_ auction. It's just an announcement, about a _special_ friend of ours, Miss Sweet Sally Peaches, also known as, _Tori Vega_."

Oh no. Tori couldn't breathe. Jade couldn't be doing what she thought she was doing. Had Tori pissed her off that much?

"Now our _darling_ Miss Vega has a sweet little secret that she's decided she wants you all to know, so I'm doing the honors.”

_No, please no._

“Tori Vega is one of those oh so rare and special things,” she paused. Tori’s stomach clenched. “A female alpha." Jade's lips curled in a cheshire smile. "And _she_ just tried to make a play for _me_."

She'd done it. Tori shoved herself up from the table, and then froze. Every eye in the cafeteria was on her, everyone was watching her, everyone _knew_.

Tori turned and fled.


	10. Chapter 10

Cat found Jade back in the girls bathroom, clenching the sink until her knuckles were white, and trying desperately not to throw up.

"Why'd you do that, Jade?" Cat asked, softly, not judging her. Cat never judged anyone.

"Because she _deserved_ it," Jade shot back, bitterly.

"Did she?"

Jade turned to face her, hands clenched into fists. The look on Tori's face - the betrayal. Oh, Jade was glad that _she_ was the one who had put it there. No one else was allowed to hurt Tori _that much._ "She wouldn't stay out of my _business_. She was giving me all this bullshit about not taking the easy way out, saying she didn't want to lie about being an alpha anymore." Jade forced a grin. It was mostly teeth. "I made her put her money where her mouth is. Too bad it turned out that she couldn't handle it."

"That was cruel, Jade."

"Life is cruel." Jade slumped against the sink. _God_ , was life cruel sometimes. She had _never_ wanted an alpha. She had never understood why all those other omegas found them so irresistible - stupid, immature boys. It had been easy to keep herself _pure_ for whoever her father finally picked out. And then he did, he finally picked out an alpha. The one thing she had dreaded paired with the one thing that she had thought impossible. The alpha she had to have and the alpha that she wanted. And what had she done now? Bite and claw at the alpha that she wanted so the alpha she had to have would have full access. "Fuck."

"What's wrong?"

"She asked me out," Jade said quietly.

"What? But that's awesome! You'd be so cute together! You'd have the cutest-"

Jade covered Cat's mouth with one hand and choked her with the other. "Don't say another word."

Cat nodded, her heart fluttering panicked in her throat, under Jade's hand.

"None of that matters." Jade sighed. "She asked me out _now_. When it's too late."

Cat frowned, but kept her mouth shut.

"Just... I'll be gone at the end of this week. If she does come back to school, keep her away, okay? I'll be missing for a week, probably, and when I get back, I'll be... different. It won't be an issue anymore. Just don't let her come looking for me. That was the point, really, of doing what I did. So she wouldn't get in trouble coming after me."

Cat's eyes were so wide that she looked like her eyeballs would tear down her face. But Jade had told her to not say another word, and she didn't. She just threw herself at Jade and tried to hug her. Jade fought her off.

She couldn't deal with that right now.

She couldn't deal with anything right now.

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Tori ran all the way home.

"Tori, honey? What's wrong?" Her mother had been sitting at the kitchen table, working, but she rose as Tori burst through the door, sweating, eyes streaming.

"I- I can't." Tori stumbled into her mother's arms and cried.

Her mom petted her head.

"It's not _fair_!" Tori lifted her head. "Why would she _do_ that? I thought..." _I thought she liked me, even if she was trying so hard to keep it a secret._ "I don't know if I can go back there." She hung her head. "She told the whole school."

And in some ways, what was worse was not that Jade told them that Tori was an alpha, but that she had told them all, very clearly, that Tori wasn't good enough for _her_.

What was the _point_?

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Jade's manicure was perfect, and her toenails were still drying. Everything was scheduled, everything was ready, she was the last thing to be painted and decorated, dressed and posed, like a doll.

There were too many things to ready for her to go to school. But her father hadn't bothered to tell her teachers, or let her tell them. He didn't know she was going back. It was going to be a hassle.

But Gavin had promised she'd go back. She just wished she knew how long he was going to keep her at home first. These things spread and expanded to fill all the possible time available - one week of preparations - one week of parties, being shown around like a prize. Or would it be two? Three? By then it would be winter break. Had he planned a trip?

Maybe it would be better to never come back.

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Tori's parents hadn't pushed her to go back to school. She was glad of that. She hated that she had run. But why would she have stayed. There was one stupid high-school reason that she had even thought of outing herself - there was one reason that would have been worth it, and that had blown up in her face.

Andre, Cat and Robbie had sent her a lot of text messages. Some were supportive, others were asking her when she was coming back to school (A large proportion of Cat's were just incomprehensible.) She didn't respond.

On Thursday, someone knocked on her door. Tori opened it.

"Hey," Doug said.

Tori straightened. "What? What are you doing here?"

Doug grinned. "Beck let me know what was going down. I figured I'd drop in and let you know I've got your back."

Tori stared at him blankly. "Why?"

"Beck says you're all right, and you were cool at the party the other day, kicking some ass. One of those girls was my cousin, so I figured had some gratitude to spare."

"Oh."

"I told my guys to leave you alone. I can't stop all the hassling, but the guys know that if they get rough with you, they answer to me. And there's a reason I'm top dog in these parts." He grinned.

Tori bristled slightly. "I don't... need protection."

Doug raised an eyebrow. "Sure you don't." He patted her on the shoulder. "Alphas are always out to push each other around, show who's best, but if we never looked out for each other it would just be a free-for-all all the time. You're just a little alpha now, until you figure out how to work things, so why not join my pack? I like to think of us as a team, watching each other's backs, keeping the peace, playing defense for our betas and omegas. You already did that when you helped out my cousin, so you've got the idea. You've got to be in the system before you can build real respect. That's how alphas work."

"Really?" Tori rubbed her head. "I never saw that before. My dad..."

"He doesn't have a tight group of old friends from high school that he goes to when he needs a hand?" Doug shook his head. "Once you get into the real world you start building respect in other ways. But down on the ground it's about loyalty and looking after your friends. And any alpha on his own is in trouble. You in, Tori?"

So this was what it was like to be an alpha. It hardly had anything to do with biology. It was a social structure, and Tori had managed to get herself invited in. "I'm totally in," she said.

"Awesome," said Doug. "Here's my phone number. Call if you need me."

"Thanks."

"And I'm sorry. Those omegas, they can be bitches, yo."

Tori flinched. "Yeah," she said, sliding her phone back into her pocket. "They kind of can."

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On Friday morning, Jade's father came downstairs with the injection kit. Jade sat on her bed, arms around her knees, rocking slightly. So this was it.

"Ready?"

Jade swallowed, and held out her arm. A cold swab of rubbing alcohol, the sting of the needle, he depressed the plunger, and it was done.

It was over.

He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll be back at five. Be ready then."

Jade lay her head on her knees.

He left.

For a moment she let herself wonder what she would have said if he had paused in the doorway and asked if she was happy with this, was okay with the way things were happening. "No," she murmured to herself. "No. But in a couple of hours, I will be."

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The whispers and giggles when Tori walked into school on Friday were only to be expected, but a few nods from guys who were clearly Doug's alphas were enough to make her straighten and let them slide off her back. Even with Doug's backing, she almost hadn't come. It wasn't the bullying she was afraid of, it was facing her friends, and facing Jade. What did you say to someone after they did _that_?

What could she say?

The moment Cat saw her she raced to her and threw her arms around her. "Tori! You came _back_!"

Andre gave her a shoulder slap.

Robbie grinned at her in a half thrilled half terrified way. "So, you're an alpha. I guess I should have known when you punched through my locker."

Tori covered her face, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"Oh, I knew for ages," said Cat. "Jade told-" She broke off, making a weird face.

"It's cool, Tor," said Andre. "Like I said: Normal's boring."

"Thanks."

Tori cast a surreptitious glance over towards Jade's locker, but no one was there. She was a little glad - to not have to deal with her yet, but also slightly disappointed.

In Sikowitz's class, Jade didn't show. She wasn't in any of the classes they shared, and she didn't appear at lunch. Tori leaned on her elbows and frowned as Cat came up to sit next to her.

"Where's Jade?" she asked.

Cat dropped her tray. "Oh god, Tori! She told me not to tell you that you shouldn't go looking for her! She doesn't want you to get in trouble, and that was why she outed you, so you wouldn't look for her!" Cat paused. "I probably wasn't supposed to say any of that."

Tori gaped at her. _What?_ Jade had outed her to keep her away? She was trying to stop her from getting into trouble. "Wait? What do you mean? Why would she do that? Is something happening to her?"

Cat shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. She's just been sad lately. And I think she's in love with you."

It felt like the world had twisted upside down.

What was she supposed to _do?_

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The heat built slowly, steadily. It felt different from the regular ones, not as raw, but slightly more desperate, more _lonely_.

But she was alone.

Her mother knocked on the door a few times, asking if she was all right, but Jade just yelled back for her to go away.

She was a mess. Eyeliner smeared from crying, she ached and couldn't do anything to sate it. She hated this, hated the way the chemicals broke her iron control, slid in surreptitiously to play in her mind like feral children in a sandbox. She hated not being able to control her own mind.

She focused on that hate, drawing herself together around it.

If all she had left was her dignity, she would dig her fucking nails in.

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Tori considered the front door, but if Jade thought she might get in trouble coming after her, she should probably avoid meeting anyone she didn't trust. Tori snuck through the bushes instead and found her way to the small rectangular window that opened onto Jade's basement room. She peered through.

Jade was sitting on her bed, knees up to her chest, head pressed against one. She looked calm, not stressed or in danger, and Tori felt a little like an idiot, knocking on the window, but what else could she do? Jade shot a deadly look through the glass, but her eyeliner was running, she had been crying. Tori knocked again more fiercely.

Jade jerked open the window. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You weren’t at school. I wanted to see how you were."

Jade let her head fall back and rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Why did you _think_ I wasn't there?"

Tori swallowed. She could smell the heat in the room, its warm rich scent, and now something new - arousal, gathering on Jade's skin and between her legs. "Oh, god," Tori whimpered. "Sorry. I thought- It's not supposed to be for like another week or two?"

It was sweeter than usual. Not the deep rush to the loins, soft and sweet and pleasing. Tori licked her suddenly dry lips.

"No," Jade said flatly. "This one's artificially induced."

"What?" Tori fell through the window and crashed onto the floor.

Jade jerked back. "You can't be in here!"

Tori sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm not an animal," she muttered. "I can control myself."

Jade's eyes went bright suddenly, as if with newly gathered tears. She shook her head. "Yeah, I know. You're _great_ at controlling yourself around me. I'm hardly interesting at all." She dropped back onto the bed. "But you're an alpha. If my dad smells you on me, he'll kill you."

 _What_? Was she still pissed that Tori hadn’t grabbed her the last time she was in heat? She was impossible. And none of this was making sense. Why would anyone induce an artificial heat? "I don't understand. What’s going on?"

Jade flashed the inside of her arm, and Tori spotted the tiny red dot tucked into the crook of her elbow. "It’s the mating drugs," Jade said. "My daddy's finally picked the alpha he's selling me to. And he gets a _lovely_ merger out of the deal, and I get a handsome alpha husband and to spend the rest of my life with out a care in the world," she waved her hand, her southern (Tori) accent coming out in the false pretense of ease.

"What?" Tori stared at her, not able to believe this. She was on _mating drugs_? She was _sixteen_. This was _medieval_. "He can't _sell_ you!"

"I’ve been sold already," Jade sighed. "I'm just waiting for delivery. This evening I'll be brought to him in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs, and he'll knot me and mate me and then we won't have to worry about this. I won't be interested in other alphas. I'll see you in school eventually. He promised I'd be able to finish high school, as a treat to me. And after that I get to start having his pups. Doesn't that sound _wonderful_?"

It sounded disgusting. " _Jade_. You can't just be planning to let this happen. You can't just let your dad sell you to him. You could call the police. This isn't legal anymore."

"It's _wrong_ ," Jade said, "It's still legal. Until I'm eighteen, he can do what he wants with me, and that includes mating me to his business partner, okay?"

"But can't we stop this? Can't I stop this?" She took a step toward her.

Jade backed up. "You don't want this. You're offering to knot me? Jesus."

Tori flushed. "I- I don't think this is fair. And I'm willing. It's not like it would be unpleasant."

Jade snorted. "You had better believe it wouldn't be. But it's a stupid idea. You'd knot me and mate me and my dad would find us and kill us. Being dead and bringing you down with me isn't the plan here.” She sighed. “Look, I'm pissed now, but tonight I'm going to want him. It's going to be fine. He seems okay, and it doesn’t really matter. He might be the biggest jerk on the planet, but I'll love his knot, and he'll have his teenage omega slut all over him." Jade crunched her hands into fists. "That's what I get for being an omega - I don't even get to control my own body, not even my own mind."

"This _has_ to be illegal."

"You want me to go to the cops against my dad? My dad's one of the most powerful alphas in LA. It's not going to happen, okay? I'll just get through this, and then we can be friends, like you wanted. You always just wanted to be friends, right?"

Tori stared at her.

 _I love you_. She had never wanted to think it, but it had always been there, and now it was all she could think.

Tori felt her own eyes filling bitterly with tears. Jade gave one suppressed, desperate sob, and Tori couldn't stop. She stepped in, wrapping her arms around Jade and drawing her in for a hug. Jade clung to her, and slowly they staggered backwards to sit on the bed. Tori's hand rubbed Jade's back in slow circles. Jade cried, soaking the shoulder of her shirt.

Tori considered pushing her down and taking her, not letting her protest, but she had said no, like she really didn't want it, and raping someone, even for their own good, was not something Tori could stoop to. Instead she just rubbed the inside of her wrist across the back of Jade's neck.

It felt... kind of amazing, and even Jade made a small sound that sounded more like moan than a sob.

Jade lifted her head, and looked at her, blue-green eyes clouded with tears. Then she leaned in and Tori met her in the middle. The kisses were light, soft presses of lips, no tongue, the occasional brush of teeth. It wasn't sweet. It wasn't passionate. It was just desperate and sad.

A knock came on the door. "Jadelyn," said a woman's voice. "It's time to get ready. He'll be here in an hour."

Jade choked and pushed Tori off. "Yes, mom. I'll be ready."

"You're going to do this?"

Jade looked up at her, lips twisted in resigned humor. "This is my life, Tori. And no matter how we fight, this is my destiny. I'm a breeder, and I've always been meant to be someone's bitch."

"But-"

"And don't say being yours is an improvement. Of things that will get me beaten up, being with you is number one on the list. He's not the worst option I have. And this way my dad will finally think I'm worth something."

 _Even if it was just a bargaining chip._ Tori _hated_ this. "You're worth more than anyone. You're..." The swell of feeling was almost overwhelming. "You deserve everything. I'd- I'd give you anything."

Jade smiled. "Get out of here before all the hormones go to your head. I've got to shower, or they'll know you've been here."

"No, Jade. I'm not leav-"

Jade stripped off her dress and stood in her underwear and bra. She glanced at Tori, eyeliner like owl feathers streaking her face. "Don't act like a stupid alpha, okay?" And then she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Tori slumped back down on the bed. It hadn't worked. She hadn't fixed things. She wasn't even an option.

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Jade, as clean and scrubbed as she could be, dressed herself in a simple red silk slip and barely there underwear. She dried her hair, twisting it up on the back of her head, and pinned it. It would just be thoroughly messed up later. Her stomach ached and her body hurt, and yet she had to protect Tori. She couldn't let her father find her and hurt her. And he wouldn’t even be punished. Flying into a violent rage when some strange alpha defiled your omega daughter was only natural, right? And if the alpha was a flimsy little girl, killing her on accident was no big deal.

Jade reached back and touched her neck. It was sensitive where Tori had been rubbing her wrist against it. It felt almost raw, the soap stinging against her skin. But any lingering trace of Tori on her would be their undoing. She would make it through this. Tori would be her friend, no matter what, and she would need all the friends she could get to survive the life that awaited her - her mother's life.

The manicure and pedicure were still perfect. She did her make-up, light, using waterproof mascara, not wanting to risk another set of raccoon eyes if she lost control and started to cry.

And then her mother knocked again, and Jade stepped out, prepared.

Her mother looked at her. For the first time, really, Jade could see her eyes. They were an odd blue-green, like her own. "You look beautiful."

Jade's chest swelled with fury. How dare she let him do this to her? How dare she say she was beautiful, when she was only attractive enough to be sold for money?

Then her mother gave a short sniff and looked surprised. "Are you-"

"Wildly in heat? Yes," Jade snapped back. She could probably smell the lingering scent of Tori that was still in her room.

"No. I just thought.... It's been a long time. I don't really remember what a mating heat smells like."

So submissive. Always submissive. Just like Jade was supposed to be. She really wasn't sure if she could bear that.

They walked up the stairs and her mother led her to the grandest guest bedroom, everything new and clean and perfect, like a hotel. God, she was an expensive call girl and her father was her pimp. The bed had been made up with satin sheets. Jade grimaced and sat on the bedspread, wanting to bring her legs up, but sure that the slip was too short, and she would just expose everything. She sat still, hands pressed against the blanket, and waited.

The door opened. She heard her father's voice outside. "Everything should be ready for you."

"I'm very excited," said Gavin, a slight smile in his voice. He stepped inside.

Gavin paused for a moment, looking at Jade. "What a prize," he said softly. "Worth every penny."

He slipped off his jacket, and loosened his tie. After his tie, his trousers came off, and Jade could see the swell in his boxers, the knot beginning to bulge. And she felt nothing.

She was in heat. She knew that. The wetness coated her thighs. Her breasts ached, tender and sensitive. And yet she still felt nothing. His knot might have been a chair to her. She had no interest in putting it inside her.

Something must have shown on her face, because Gavin paused, and frowned, then sniffed the air.

"Hey," he said softly. "You..."

Jade gulped. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

"You've taken the mating drugs, right?"

Jade nodded. Her mother's comment before suddenly struck her with import.

"And you don't... you don't already have a mate?"

"What?" Jade gaped at him. "No. I've never even been knotted."

"It's just- It's just you smell like you already have a mate."

Jade reached back once more and slowly let her fingers run over the sensitive place on the back of her neck. Female alphas. Oh fuck.


	11. Chapter 11

Tori paced back and forth along the street. What was she going to do? She couldn't just let this happen. She _couldn't_ , even if it was legal. And seriously? There was no way this could be legal. She called her dad.

"Her father's doing _what_?"

"It's not legal! It can't be legal, right?"

"Did she consent to it?"

 _Did she?_ "I... _No!_ I mean, she seems resigned. But she doesn't want this, she _can't_!"

"Tori..." Her father's tone was _not_ reassuring. "It's Hadrian West. What judge is going to get me a warrant against Hadrian West?"

"A warrant? I need a swat team!"

"If he procured the drugs illegally, if she didn't consent-"

"She didn't consent! She _didn't_."

"I'll do what I can, Tori. I'll be there as soon as I can."

A car pulled up in the drive and two men got out. Tori's fingernails dug into her palms. As soon as he could might not be soon enough. She stared at the younger man, tall, handsome, well built shoulders.

Was that him? Was that the filthy alpha who was buying her?

The rage washed over her. Tori struggled for control. But she didn't have time to lose her head. She had to get this done. Had to protect her.

She punched another number into her phone. "Doug?"

"Ten minutes."

Ten minutes was too long. She had to go in alone.

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Gavin cocked his head to the side. He sauntered toward her and slid his hand up the bare skin of her arm to the place on the back of her neck that still felt raw. "Now, how did you manage to get mated in the time between your father dosing you this morning and now?"

He was close enough so that Jade could feel his swollen knot against her leg. She thought she might be sick. He shook his head, a lock of dark hair falling in his eye.

"You know, when I spotted you for the first time, I was sure you'd be trouble. I _like_ trouble. Omegas are boring, but I was sure you'd fight me the whole way, and then when the mating bond took hold, you'd fall limp and accepting. I'd hold back and you'd beg for it." He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip. "I want to hear you beg, darling."

 _Fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck_. What was he going to do to her? All alphas were jerks, but Gavin was turning out to be as creepy as fuck.

"I suppose we'll just have to let your father get his hands on the drugs that break a mating and then try again." He leaned in and bumped their foreheads together. "I don't suppose you'd beg if I fucked you now." His smile quirked oddly in his face. "Someone else's mate. Your body wants _his_ knot, doesn't it? It wouldn't want mine. It might hurt. You might scream." He gently brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I like hearing girls scream."

He pushed her down, climbing up to kneel straddling her. Jade couldn't breathe to scream, not with his foul, suffocating alpha musk. "I don't suppose your father would care if you got knotted before you were mated. And your poor little alpha husband hasn't even had a chance to get his paws on you properly, has he? Giving the first knot to a mated omega. That's like a dream." He grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the bed. "Now come on, fight me. You'll be able to fight the whole way through, even when I'm tied into you, breeding you."

The door clicked.

Jade tensed. Gavin glanced back. And then there was a crash and a whirr and a crack. Gavin half fell off of her, staggering when his feet hit the floor. Blood gushed from a cut on his forehead. And Tori was standing there, brandishing a metal lamp.

Jade shut her eyes. _Fuck_.

"You?" Gavin asked, his hand going to his eyebrow, wincing when it came away wet. "Who the hell are you?"

Tori was beyond speech, panting, foaming slightly, knuckles white on the lamp. Gavin's eyes flicked to the dilated pupils, the drool and slight streaks of foam.

"Hell," he said, his eyes alight. "A female alpha? Are you _serious_?"

He looked at Jade, pushing herself up to sit, and grinned. "This is like... cake."

"If you even try to touch her I will snip your knot off," Jade hissed. This was why she never left the house without scissors, and now here she was, scissorless. The lamp was an excellent plan though.

"How _sad_. An omega defending her mate." Gavin shook his head. "I know what I need." Carefully, keeping an eye on them both, he reached for his pants to unthread the belt from the loops. "Wish I had rope though. The lamp cord could do. I'll manage. I'll tie you up and make you watch."

Tori went for him with the lamp.

The belt whipped out at her and she ducked, swinging hard, knocking Gavin's knees out from under him.

The door burst open. Uniformed cops rushed in. One spotted Tori - the lamp wielding maniac, and started to go for her. Jade lunged at her, taking her down, and then crawled over her.

An alpha cop - familiar - was it Beck's friend Doug? - shouted at the other officer. "What the hell?" He gestured at Gavin. "Grab _him_. The girls aren't the problem!"

"Everybody calm down here!" another voice bellowed. This was an alpha not in uniform. Tori, under her, released a breath. "My dad," she whispered, and then looked up at Jade. Jade stared at her. Her eyes were less dilated, her breathing regular. She had hit Gavin with a _lamp_. _Oh, whatever_. She leaned in and captured her lips. Tori giggled giddily into it, her hands sliding up Jade's back, under the slip.

"What is going on here!"

Jade froze. _Her dad_. She struggled to sit up. Her father stood in the doorway, his face white with fury. She had never seen him so angry - not even when he beat her.

"This girl came in and belted me over the head and then the cops broke in like it was some sort of raid. What the hell is this?" Gavin shouted.

One of the uniform cops froze. "Mr. West."

Jade's father crossed his arms.

Jade scrambled off of Tori and got to her feet, smoothing down the slip to have it cover as much as it could, which, wasn't much. Tori looked up at her, wide eyed and obviously confused. She had probably blacked out a lot of the violence. This had gone totally out of control.

"I'm Detective David Vega," Tori's dad said, flashing his badge. "I had a report of illegally obtained mating drugs being used on an unconsenting minor. I have a warrant."

Jade's father's eyes went straight to her. He _looked_ at her, met her eyes, which he hadn't done for years, not since she went into heat for the first time. "Did you call him?"

"No sir," Jade responded. She knew better than that. Why would her father bother with doing anything illegally when he could manipulate all the legal channels just as easily?

"Then who, may I ask, offered such a lie?"

"I don't think you're the one who should be asking questions," snapped Doug.

"It isn't a lie, father," Jade said.

"It is within my rights to give you permission to mate."

"I didn't _ask_ permission!" Jade yelled.

"You didn't say no."

She hadn't said no. "Silence isn't consent," she said.

"It's not," agreed Tori. "There was a ruling on that pretty recently, wasn't there?"

"This is all bullshit!" Gavin yelped. "That girl came in here and assaulted me!"

Tori's eyes widened. Her father looked down at her. "I just... he was going to..."

"He was going to rape me," Jade said. "Tori hindered the process."

"You _agreed,"_ her father hissed. "You can't hold out your arm for the injection and then take it all back now."

Jade shrugged, her jaw set. "I agreed to take the drugs and go into a mating heat. I agreed to dress like a slut and come up here. I did not agree to cheating on my mate."

The room froze. Her father took a long sniff. So did David Vega.

"You've been mated," her father said, frowning. He looked over at Gavin, sniffed, and frowned again. "To whom?"

"To Tori." Jade pointed.

Tori, who was sitting leaning against the bed, went green. "What?"

"You didn't mention this on the phone," David chided his daughter.

"I-" Tori squeaked. "That can't be..."

"How do I smell?" asked Jade.

Tori stared at her for a moment. "Perfect," she said. "Like always."

The idiotic look of adoration made Jade smile involuntarially.

"What did you _do!"_ her father took a step toward her and raised his hand as if he was about to strike her.

"I never disobeyed you!" Jade yelled at him.

"Then how did _this_ happen?"

"It's not my fault that that nosy brat can't keep herself from falling through open windows and molesting me!"

"There was no molestation!" Tori yelped.

"And what do you call rubbing off on the back of my neck!"

Tori's face contorted in confusion and disgust. "What? It was just my wrist-"

"Be silent!" Jade's father roared. "How _dare_ you!" He took a step toward them, raising his fist, then hesitated, as if he wasn't sure who he wanted to go for first.

"Excuse me," David Vega said. He pressed Mr. West's arm down so that it was no longer ready to swing. "I think this changes things. As Jade here had already undergone mating then the assignation you set up with your work colleague counts as procuring. And procuring omegas has very high penalties."

Mr. West jerked out of his grip and cast him a disgusted glare. "You're right," he agreed. "This does change things." His eyes turned to Jade, flicked to Tori in disgust, and then moved back to Jade. "You are no longer my daughter."

Jade felt her face go slack.

" _Sir_ ," David protested sharply.

"I am an _alpha_ , detective," Mr. West snapped. "And because of that, she is mine, and because she is mine, I can throw her away." He glared at Jade. "You chose your alpha. Fare well with her _."_

Jade sank onto the ground. Oh lord, what had she done?

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"I don't know what happened," Tori said, feeling miserable. She could see Jade through the glass partition. Someone had snagged her some sweatpants and a flannel shirt and she was curled up on the bench in the interrogation room, looking like she had been crushed, and Tori couldn't focus, couldn't think, when her mate was so sad. "I don't really remember it very well. I just remember Mrs. West opening the door, taking a sniff, and letting me in, and then I remember listening at the door, and he said something about wanting her to scream, and I I hit him with a lamp. I don't actually remember hitting him with a lamp. But he was bleeding and I had a lamp, so I figured there must have been, you know, cause and effect."

There was a brief pinprick for a blood test, to make _certain_ they were mated, but no one seemed to have any doubt, except Tori, who couldn't believe that she could be mated _and_ feel quite so miserable.

Well, she couldn't believe it until she stepped out into the hallway where Jade was waiting, and could smell her again.

"Tori! Are your hands all right?"

Tori looked up, her mom was coming toward her, scooping her up in a hug, and then looking at her hands. "They're fine, mom." She said. "I used a lamp."

Her mom raised an eyebrow and then looked over at Jade. She paused, as if seeing something that Tori couldn't, and then stepped toward her and got on her knees in front of the bench where Jade was sitting. "Are _you_ all right?"

Jade just looked at her, eyes hollow and confused. "Why do you care?"

Her mother smiled and ruffled Jade's already messy hair. "Because someone should. And because Tori's hopeless."

Jade smiled, huffing out a not-quite laugh, and it felt like the first time Tori had ever seen her smile like that, ever seen her smile at all. And she wanted, well, what she had always wanted. To hug Jade until she couldn't remember not touching her, and couldn't think of ever letting go. At the same time, she wanted her naked in her bed, like, _really badly_ , but that wasn't exactly new - though a lot of the imagery was much more vivid. She sat on the thoughts. Police station. Inappropriate.

Her father ducked out of the office and came up, embracing her mother and giving her a brief kiss. "Don't worry. Neither of them are being charged with anything."

"Tori hit someone with a lamp."

"Under the circumstances, it was allowable. Can you take them home, feed them dinner, and put them to bed? - preferably not together, since the drugs are still affecting Jade's behavior, and it's better for her to make important decisions after they've worn off. I don't think I'll be done here until morning. Mr. West's called his lawyer."

"And I'll get the actual story out of the girls?" Holly inquired, half amused, half annoyed.

"And when I get home. Have to go. The prosecutor's reading Jade's statement and is getting a little angry."

He slithered out. Holly turned to the two girls. "Who wants dinner?"

Jade got into the front seat, and Tori slid into the back, feeling inexplicably lonely. Her body wanted to make small depressed noises.

"Tori! Stop whining!" her mother said.

Jade looked back at her, just looked, no expression on her face, and Tori just stared back, restrained by the seatbelt from falling forward between the front seats. Jade huffed out. "I'll hug you when we get home, you big hug-slut."

Tori's mother laughed. Tori... felt better.

On the front stoop, while her mother unlocked the door, Jade made good on her promise. Tori clung to her, burying her head into her shoulder, breathing in the scent - that had always smelled so good, and now was like cocaine. Jade's breathing quickened, roughened, and Tori felt her body rev up, electric desire hissing through her, making her let out a tiny sound that wasn't quite a gasp and wasn't exactly a moan.

"Hands where I can see them, girls!" Tori's mother announced. "And if you're going to make out on the sofa, there's a three feet on the floor rule, okay?"

Jade chuckled, and the vibration made _nothing_ calm down in Tori's chest. "Just put your knee between my legs, baby, and I'll get off."

That made all the blood rush right to the erogenous areas, and other things happen too, and Tori squeaked.

"Try not to take my little girl's virginity on the front porch, Jade," her mother called. "It seems exciting now, but you're going to be humiliated in front of the neighbors for the next ten years. Believe me. I know."

Tori jerked back. " _What_?"

Jade was really laughing now. She tangled her fingers with Tori's and pulled her into the house. "Seriously, Ms. Vega. You need to explain that one!"

Holly grinned. "That's for me to know, and you to find out. Now, Tori, you're cooking dinner."

"What?" Tori looked a bit stunned. "Why me?"

"It's your usual night to cook dinner. Do you think you're going to get out of it just because of the day you've had?"

"I-" Tori pouted. "Fine."

"Think of it as an opportunity to impress your girlfriend."

This did not make it better. Tori opened her mouth, "oh, not fair!" and she whirled and headed for the kitchen.

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Jade's eyes settled on Tori's mom. "You want to talk to me."

It was funny, how she wasn't angry. This was what always made her furious and jealous. Tori got the _good_ parents. Tori got to be an alpha. Tori got everything she even so much as thought she might want.

She even got Jade, even if she didn't actually want her.

Holly nodded. "I really don't know what happened today. As far as I can tell with my nose, you're in heat, and you've mated with my daughter. With my eyes, it looks like you've been having a really rough day."

"All true."

"Mating drugs?"

Jade nodded. "My dad injected me this morning."

"It should wear off by tomorrow then."

"I guess. I mean, it already worked, right? I'm mated, even if I haven't been knotted yet. Though that was a close thing. _Gavin_."

Holly caught her hand and squeezed it. "Your father threw you out?"

Jade sighed. "Understandably. I really fucked everything up. And then Tori hit the guy he wanted a merger with in the head with a lamp. If Doug and your husband hadn't burst in, he would probably have killed us."

"Has he hurt you before?"

Jade nodded.

Holly's hand rested between her shoulder blades, rubbing lightly. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't like, frequent. I just always knew he could, if I disappointed him badly enough. I didn't think it would be worse to be kicked out, but it kind of is." Getting hurt was behavior modification, she could fix it. She could please him. This... she was a lost cause. She hated that she still wanted his approval, even though he was a worthless son-of-a-bitch.

"You know you have a home here, whether you stay mated to Tori or not."

Jade stared at her. "Why? _Why do you care about me_? I'm not- I'm not any good."

"Jade, I don't have any omega daughters, and to some extent, I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that neither of my daughters had to go through what I did. I'm glad they won't meet so many obstacles in doing what they want to do with their lives. But until they were twelve, we didn't know. So we were very careful to teach them to choose, and believe in themselves. That... may have backfired with Trina. And even though Tori turned out to be an alpha, she needed to be taught that too. You deserve to be allowed to choose what you want. And no one will blame you if that isn't Tori. _Tori_ won't blame you for that."

"Is that why you won't let me sleep with her tonight?" She felt a little bitter at that. She was in heat, and other alphas were suddenly invisible to her. Tori had kept casting her small glances and smiling, and it was enough to keep the desire sated and warm in her belly, but no contact at all? The thought made her sick. "I feel, almost human now, even though I'm in heat."

"And if you got knotted, you'd be able to control your heats even more. You'd feel great."

"Exactly." Why shouldn't she want this? Why didn't she deserve this? After everything...

"And tell me what would happen if you slept with Tori tonight, and then, when the heat was gone, you decided that this mating thing was stupid, broke it and left."

Jade flinched. That _did_ sound like her. And she would be fine. But Tori was such a mess already. "I wouldn't... necessarily break it."

"You're sixteen. You may not want or be ready for a mate. But if Tori has her first time with you - the in heat omega she's just mated with, the one she's been obsessed with since she started at your school - and then you walk away, do you think she's going to let herself open up again? You'll break her. Wait. Think. Date, if you want. Make yourself feel comfortable about her feelings, and be sure about yours. And then you can have proper heat sex for the full three days. Mated or not."

Slightly shocked, Jade snorted. "Why are you okay with this?"

"I like you. And honestly, I'd rather she be with someone I think is responsible and trustworthy than with the beta boys she hangs out with."

"I'm not."

"Not what?"

"Responsible and trustworthy."

Holly stood and shrugged. "You haven't done anything irresponsible or anything to break my trust to me yet. Keep it up."

"I outed her to the _school_!"

"Why?"

Jade dropped her head. "So... _this_ wouldn't happen. So my dad wouldn't kill her."

"If you can do that, to protect her, you can keep your hands to yourself for one night."

Jade sank into the couch. She could, but that didn't mean she wanted to. Maybe if she promised to stay mated to Tori for ever and ever and always make her happy... She laughed to herself. Yeah, that was the mating heat talking.

Tomorrow, tomorrow she would have her mind back, mostly.

Tomorrow she could make a decision.

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Tori couldn't sleep. She rolled around in bed, knowing Jade was in her living room, on the couch, and found it unbearable. Finally, around three, she snuck down the stairs and went to her. Jade was sleeping, so Tori curled up on the floor, leaning against the couch next to her, and shut her eyes.

Listening to Jade breathe, sleep came quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Jade muttered.

Tori blinked. Jade's hand was on her shoulder, and she looked up. Sleepy and mussed, Jade was gorgeous. "I love you."

Jade smacked her. "Shut up." She grabbed Tori's arm and jerked her onto the couch. "Get up here." Tori curled around her, pulling her into her arms, and felt Jade let out a breath.

"God, I hate this," she muttered. "I hate how it feels so... so _fake_."

Tori's stomach twisted around. "It doesn't, really," she said. "I mean, I don't feel all that differently about you than I did before. I really don't."

Jade gave her an eyebrow. "You're being serious?"

"Well, I never went into a blackout rage before, but I did punch through Robbie's locker. And, you know... we are what we are. I can't split being an alpha from being Tori, and I can't split my feelings for you from my feelings for you."

Jade sighed. "You suck. Stop being reasonable. A week ago you were flipping out about being so _alpha_ around me."

"It's worth it, for you." She leaned in and kissed Jade's cheek.

Jade struggled. "You don't have me! Not yet!" she snapped.

Tori sat up, wide eyed, scared. "I know - I don't own you. I'm never going to think I own you."

Jade's hands clenched into fists. "Look. If we do this, if we stay mated, you have to give me what I want. There are going to be rules."

"Okay." Tori felt hesitant. But she had to consider this. She had what she wanted, the question was whether it was worth keeping. She _knew_ it was worth keeping. "What are they?"

"You said the first one. You don't own me. You don't control me. I make decisions for myself, okay?"

"Of course."

"And if I do something stupid, or get into trouble, you don't interfere. I don't want you to protect me!"

Tori closed her eyes and took a breath. "I can't promise that. I don't want to. If you're in trouble, I will protect you."

Jade bared her teeth.

"But, I'd want the same thing from you. Is that okay? We protect each other."

Jade sank. "Fine. But no protecting me from myself. You can't protect me from making my own idiot choices."

Tori nodded. "I'll talk to you. I won't make you do anything."

Jade swallowed and slowly leaned into her chest. "You don't own me," she said softly.

Tori pulled her in. "One rule for me."

"Oh really?"

"I can hug you whenever."

"I get to measure the duration."

"Deal."

Finally the tension slipped out of Jade. She leaned back into Tori, pressing her head into the crook of her shoulder. "Okay," she said. "Okay. I kind of love you too."

FIN


End file.
